After Sunday’s match v Manchester United, Mikel Arteta said his squad was not overly excited with their performance. Yes, the win and a clean sheet were terrific opening day results on the road at Old Trafford, but, overall, the team felt they had not played their best.
In my humble opinion, I agree, however, the result put three points on the league table, and it must be said, a win is a win. Remember, this is a math project, not an art project.
‘1-nil to the Arsenal.”
Offensively, the Gunners had some chances, and Viktor Gyokeres was unable to get a lot of opportunities inside the penalty area. Normally, Arsenal’s main offensive tactic is based on the strength of the right side – Martin Odegaard, Ben White and Bukayo Saka. Manchester United did a nice job shutting this down, plus they had a double-team on Gyokeres most of the game.
Not to defend anyone’s performance, but bringing a striker into Arteta’s tactics will take a few games. It will take a few matches for everyone to learn how to take advantage of each other’s talents. Gyokeres is a power player, not necessarily a finesse player. The goals will come. Mark my words.
Let’s not ignore the fact that Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard, Declan Rice and William Saliba were not at mid-season form either on Sunday, plus, Manchester United came into the match with more energy, more desire and a had lot more of the ball. Fortunately, David Raya made several outstanding saves that prevented the Red Devils from equalizing, or more.
I predicted a one goal win for the Gunners, and I think we should be happy with the result.
Was Arsenal at their best? No. Will they play better on Saturday v Leeds United? Yes. Will Gyokeres open his scoring account with Arsenal on Saturday? Yes.
Patience is a virtue, and a win is three points, no matter how you get them.
Cheers.
Gunner1953
According to Teamtalk, Arsenal wants to make Piero Hincapie a permanent member of the Gunners. The defender is currently on loan from Bayer Leverkusen.
I think our defense and goalkeeper were A+ in this game — a major positive. In past visits to Old Trafford, even with better teams and performances, we’ve come back empty-handed. In any other year, we might have lost or been lucky to get a draw. This win shows how resilient we are defensively — something to celebrate and be proud of, not sneer at!
As for the midfield and attacking players — clearly, Zubi needs time to adjust to the pace of the league and the officiating, especially when he doesn’t even get a foul after being elbowed in the face. As Arteta alluded to, Gyökeres still needs to learn our pressing system, and our wingers and midfielders need to adapt to playing with a true centre-forward who stays in the box to finish chances, rather than dropping deep to create them. Our other star players looked rusty too — but this should improve with time. I’m confident we’ll be miles better against Leeds.
The big immediate test is Liverpool — a game that’s probably come too soon for us, before our new signings have had time to gel. One thing to note, though, is how poor Gyökeres was in his hold-up play, something Havertz improved immediately. If we’re planning to bypass the midfield with direct balls from the goalkeeper to the centre-forward, then Havertz should start until Gyökeres adapts to the physicality of the Premier League.
tnyyqe