It’s the big one today. Man City away and do you know what? I’m actually not that nervous.
I know that sounds weird, maybe it’ll change throughout the course of today, but I kind of feel fine about whatever happens today. I suspect it’s because I’m managing my own expectations; I think we might come-a-cropper against Man City this afternoon.
Arteta will have thought long and hard about how to approach this game, I expect us to be resolute and compact like we have been in the last couple of games, then try and catch City out on the counter. I am thinking that Arsenal are going to say to City “crack on lads, you have the ball, but everything gets played out in front of us” and I suspect we will be tucking in our full backs like last weekend, we’ll have wide forwards who are at times acting like wing backs, then we’ll look to spring traps on City. The blueprint from last weekend has been mapped out. The question is whether Arsenal can execute their plan, or whether City will execute theirs. And I suspect they might get more joy against us than the Scum did. They are just a better team with better players who are more clinical and have a better set of players who can unlock teams.
So perhaps because my expectations are measured, I don’t feel as nervous. The only thing I do really feel about today’s game, is frustration, which is on two counts.
Firstly, that we have ANOTHER game again in which we can’t field our strongest side against City. I honestly feel like since we have improved under Arteta, we’ve been missing a key player in every single match. Last season at their ground Kiwior played at left back because Tomiyasu was only just returning from injury so could only play around 25 minutes. The game at the Emirates last season Saka was out. In the 4-1 defeat the season before we had no Saliba. In the home game the season before we were missing Thomas Partey (the one we lost 3-1). So it has felt like we’re always missing just one piece each time we play them. I’m sure City fans can argue the same in some matches (last season the Emirates they were missing Rodri through suspension), but I’d just like to see us go there with all of the key cogs fit and ready to play to see how we can go toe-to-toe with them.
The second bit of frustration will come post match if – as I have a nasty feeling about – we end up losing this game, the media narrative is going to switch to “Arsenal are done, the title is finished”. People will say “you can’t claw back five points against City. You can’t give them that much of an advantage at this stage in the season” and yes, I understand that it isn’t the best, but five points to come back after five games – in which you’ve played three away games at some of the toughest teams in the league – is not insurmountable. In the time in which we’ve played these matches, City have had:
- A win at home to newly promote Ipswich
- A win away to a West Ham team who look a bit of a shambles at times based on their match I watched yesterday against Chelsea)
- A win at home against Brentford in which they really struggled at times and Brentford created chances
I mean no disrespect to these teams, but it’s hardly big wins at tough away grounds, is it? You can argue that Chelsea might be a tough place to go, but the difficulty level in our matches feels a lot greater than theirs and I always thought we’d drop points in the opening matches of the season. As it happens we’d be level on points if it wasn’t for a disgraceful refereeing performance in the Brighton home game. So whilst defeat and a five point gap might feel big come 6pm, let’s bear in mind that we’ve got a bunch of difficult away games out of the way. There will be weekend’s in which City will struggle against better teams and I think City will be dropping points this season. Call me crazy, but I don’t see them winning 38 out of 38 matches this season.
So on to today then – how are we going to win this and how will Arteta set up?
I think he’ll be similar to the game against the Scum, although I do think there will be a little bit of shuffling going on because he’ll be mindful of some players playing three intense games in just over a week. Against Atalanta Thomas Partey came off after 58 minutes and I’ve seen some suggest that might have been a little of him playing poorly having given away the penalty, or potentially Arteta saving him for a start today. I have a sneaky suspicion that it is Jorginho that will get the nod though. He played well in the home game against City last season and he’s a playing who Arteta does call on in those big matches. Plus with Declan Rice now back in the side, there is that engine that can cover the ground and space Jorginho doesn’t. So we get more bodies able to slot in front of our back line, but we also get a guy who can ensure that Jorginho isn’t over-exposed against the City press.
The rest of the team potentially picks itself and maybe there is a question over Timber or Calafiori. The Italian hasn’t started yet but it does feel like this is a game in which he could. He’s been restricted to cameo’s so far this season but when he has come on we’ve seen a strong defender who likes to travel with the ball and also make runs to join attacks. And he does it all over the pitch too, not just at left back. That sort of activity might be a little bit of chaos that is useful in a chess match like this one is likely to be.
The only other question mark I think we’ll see is who plays wide left. Martinelli has the running power and he will get back in to defensive shape as well as provide offensive running more than Trossard. But given Gabriel Jesus was so quiet in midweek, Arteta might want to have Havertz or Trossard playing as the ‘Odegaard eight’ position – or rotating it between them – so that their relationship and connections can continue to be valuable to us. Last season they showed how they both work well toggether and Arteta might be cognisant of that and want to make sure they are on the pitch together for the majority of the match.
The fact that I watch Arsenal all of the time and even I don’t know what the team is going to be, however, suggests at least 115 Charges FC will also be kept guessing. I do think Arteta will try to keep it as close to the NLD team as possible though, so let’s just see what we have in store.
Whatever happens, James and I will be going live at 6pm to digest the game on the Same Old Arsenal podcast, so if you fancy joining us from 6 then you can find us here.
Other than that I’ll be back tomorrow. Have yourselves a good one until then (result today dependent, of course!).
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