Match report – Player ratings – Arteta reaction – Video
Well, that was not good. A 1-0 defeat to Newcastle makes it three games without a win in the Premier League, and frankly we barely deserved the 0 in that scoreline.
I’ll be honest and say I wasn’t a fan of the starting line-up. Despite playing very well there last week against Liverpool, Thomas Partey at right-back just doesn’t do it for me. It’s not even so much about his ability to play there, because he’s generally fine, but it always feels like the team isn’t properly balanced. It’s like going out with a shoe two sizes too small or something. I can’t explain it, but I fundamentally just don’t like it (which, I realise, is my issue above all else).
Still, when you see a brilliant right-back starting at left-back, it’s hard not to be a bit frustrated. Especially when the manager talks about it afterwards, saying:
I don’t have the impression he [Partey] struggled much. We don’t have another right back because Ben could not start the game.
I think the first part is absolutely true, certainly no more than anyone else yesterday, but the second part is somewhat disingenuous because he did have Jurrien Timber, and a plethora of options for left-back. It might well say something about those options. I can understand, for example, if Mikel Arteta was reluctant to start an 18 year old who is being repurposed into that position when you’re playing a difficult team away from home. However, it’s not a ringing endorsement of either Jakub Kiwior or Oleksandr Zinchenko.
Hindsight is 20/20, but would we have been any worse off with Timber at right-back, Kiwior or Myles Lewis-Skelly on the left, and Partey in midfield? I don’t think so. We were awful yesterday, I don’t think that line-up could have struggled even more, and the likelihood is in midfield we’d probably have been better with Partey in his more natural position.
The only goal of the game came from that side too. I don’t think Partey’s header is great, Newcastle switched it quickly, Anthony Gordon put in a great cross and Alexander Isak thumped home and impressive header. On TV they said how sometimes you just have to accept the opposition have scored a ‘perfect’ goal, and while the delivery and finish were excellent, I think we could have done a bit better. The initial header could have been better, as I mentioned, and it’s rare to see William Saliba so flat-footed, he could see Isak drifting off the back of Gabriel and didn’t react. Perhaps that’s nit-picking, but still.
Anyway, the goal came in the 14th minute. There was plenty of time to react, to respond, and to get something from this game, and we didn’t. Or couldn’t. It was, to my mind at least, our worst performance of the season. We were just so pedestrian. Newcastle made it physical, which is hardly unexpected, and it was hard to build any rhythm, but we didn’t do enough to cause them problems.
The only chance of the first half fell to Mikel Merino, and while it was close to goal, there were so many bodies in the way it wasn’t like he missed a sitter or something. In the second half, Declan Rice had a moment which saw a shot deflect not far wide, and you have to go to the 93rd minute for our best opening. Bukayo Saka’s cross to the back post should have seen Rice equalise, but he headed wide. That summed up our day. The terrible finish, and the paucity of opportunities.
Arteta tried to change the dynamic, putting on Ethan Nwaneri and Zinchenko with 30 minutes to go. The former struggled to make an impact with just 11 touches, although he did have an attempt at goal which few others managed; while the latter played so poorly you can fully understand why the manager wouldn’t contemplate starting him in a game like this. Gabriel Jesus came on and made no impact, and there wasn’t even a Hail Mary appearance for Raheem Sterling which might also tell you something about how Arteta views him at this moment in time.
Even set-pieces, something we’re usually really good at – better than anyone else! – were awful. Rice’s delivery was dreadful all day. The consistency of his corners, free kicks etc, has been really good, and I don’t think he took one decent one yesterday. The game got scrappy, Newcastle won free kicks and wasted time (which they are perfectly entitled to do, by the way), and it was up to us to find a solution. We couldn’t, and while I don’t think they put us under massive pressure with lots of chances, I think they deserved the three points. And I hate saying that.
Afterwards, Arteta said:
We weren’t good enough and didn’t have enough answers to get out of that, especially creating the threat that we needed, so at the end, you are reliant on two or three big chances that we had with Mikel, two with Declan and one with Gabi. Not enough threat to change the game in any moment and win it. That’s the frustrating part, but credit to them as well for what they did.
For me, only the Rice one can be categorised as a big chance. The Merino one I’ve mentioned, and I have no idea what he’s talking about when it comes to Gabriel Martinelli. He didn’t have a shot or a chance all day. Ultimately this is a performance the manager has take full responsibility for. I’m sure he will, he’s not one to shirk that in any way, but it was a day when the absence of Martin Odegaard was fully felt.
The fact that we’re desperate for a 17 year old – who is undoubtedly incredibly talented by the way – to fill that gap probably says more about the state of the squad than Nwaneri’s potential. That’s not a criticism of him, but when your only creative-minded midfielder is an Academy kid who is still feeling his way into the game at this level, then you need to look at how you’ve built your squad.
Hopefully Odegaard will be back soon, there’s chat he might be in line to make the Inter game, and that can only be a good thing – albeit I worry a little about instant burden he’ll be carrying in this team. What Arteta has to do is get us out of this funk very quickly. Man City losing yesterday was a slight safety net result for us, but we have to improve fast.
This is a team that unquestionably can play better, that can score plenty of goal as we saw last season, but right now something’s not right. Not a single player on that pitch yesterday came anywhere near their best, and too many were a long way below it. This has to be our blip, if we’re to challenge again this season – and it’s already looking quite difficult – then the manager has to find a way to get them firing. Otherwise, it’s a season that could very easily slip away from us in terms of the title. Some would argue it already has, but if there’s a silver lining, there is time to make up ground, but almost no margin for further error.
Right, I’ll leave it there for now. Back tomorrow with more, and an Arsecast Extra. Have a great Sunday.
