‘Feeling the need for fresh’
An Arsenal blog from a coach’s perspective
Although I’m about to relate Arsenal to food, I think that the comparison has validity. Alternatively, I’m reaching, but I believe I’m on to something. Read on….
I live in East Tennessee in a small community called Talbott. We are very much in the countryside which I like. I like it until it’s time to eat.
If Lori has time to cook and I’m hungry then the world is a glorious place. My wife is a stunning cook and has such a wide variety of dishes that she has perfected. The nearest town that we live in has a ridiculous amount of restaurants like every town in the United States, but I would say that none of them cook fresh food. None. I don’t know exactly how many there are but there are at least 75 restaurants in town. People who live in small town America do not expect fresh food as they have been raised on processed and fast food, and as hard as this might be to believe, some of them do not even know what fresh food is.
I have had many conversations with people who think that fresh food is food from the refrigerator, any food from the refrigerator. Intelligent people too.
Knoxville is the closest city to where we live and Lori and I go on a date once a week and ordinarily this is where we go. You certainly don’t want to stay in town because we are both teachers and when men are behaving badly they don’t want their students to see them. The main reason we go to Knoxville though is because over the last 15 years, they have developed a fresh food scene. What is most interesting though is that when the city decided to produce a higher level product then the fresh food scene expanded rapidly. Both Lori and I realize that our mood is peppier (not sure if that’s even a word) because we are experiencing a positive change. Something different has happened, something better.
For the people in this industry, I’m sure that when another two or three restaurants start making fresh food the rest have no choice but to accept it and even subconsciously step up their game. Maybe it’s there customer service. Maybe it’s the quality of their food. Maybe it’s the options. Perhaps it’s just the level. When you get in amongst people like this the biggest difference that you notice is they want to compare their level to the new guy in town. They’ve heard about this chef down the road that people are talking about and want to compete. Speaking from a male perspective, the competition doesn’t necessarily make you worry about your business, but challenges you to show that you have levels, also.
Watching Arsenal has brought every emotion this season. Frustration at referees, unexpected high scoring games. Unexpected draws. A little of everything. What can be sometimes even more fascinating is people‘s reaction afterwards. In the main Arsenal fans are currently frustrated. There is a long list of different things that they are frustrated about.
When you step back and breathe you realize that most football fans are frustrated, even Liverpool fans right now. They were cruising and now have had their first hiccup. They had a player sent off, a new experience for them, and they are wondering if they will be able to keep this up.
One common theme amongst Arsenal fans is that they are ignoring what other teams wish that they could have. We have the best defensive unit in the league, concede the least chances by far and therefore find ourselves competitive in every single game against everybody. We are the most organized team possibly in the whole of Europe. These things haven’t changed and in some areas, they have improved.
Every fans lean is towards what is exciting though. Our defensive solidity isn’t really very exciting. We appreciate it and we would certainly miss it if it was on vacation, but the majority of our thoughts go to what we look like when we have the ball and not when we don’t. The Arsenal fanbase also seem to agree on another thing. That nobody seems to know what the problem is. None of us can be 100% sure even if we claim to know because you can’t be when you are not on the inside.
I’m gonna be cheeky though. I think I have figured it out.
Arsenal have made many good signings during Arteta’s reign but very few have happened in the front line. I think there are a handful of things that need improving as I mentioned in my last blog, but I’m sure you don’t want me to repeat those. What I do think is the biggest issue is that the front line needs freshening up.
Our biggest success since Arteta showed up has been implementing structure and control both offensive and defensive. Our team very rarely looks out of control and unable to have the game the way they want it to be. What needs to change though is acquiring a better balance between predictability and risk. The first step that we need to take is, as I said, refreshing the front line.
There are a couple of ways of doing that.
We could bring Nwaneri into the starting lineup. Even though the players and other fans are getting used to his face, the opponents don’t really know him. His introduction would add unpredictability. You might be wondering where I’m thinking that he would play because arguably our two best players in Saka and Odegaard are the two positions that he plays most of his minutes. This leads me onto the second point…
One thing I haven’t ever fully understood about Arteta is that he does not have his wingers change sides during the game. Whilst we are in a little funk, perhaps it might be worth trying Saka on the left AND the on the right of the attack. It doesn’t have to be for 95 minutes though. You could switch them at will so that Saka plays on his favorite side for the majority of the game, but not the whole time. As an independent thought I would do this regardless of whether we are struggling or not. It offers a freshness in the delivery. A player crossing with his favorite foot could be the single most important change of all. This absolutely needed to happen against Everton because their right back is 39 years old and next week is about to play a Cup game against his son. That is not a joke. Much kudos to Ashley Young for playing Premier League football at the age of 39, but our best winger needed to have a go and probably a full day against the 39-year-old. If you analyze how Arsenal create goalscoring opportunities I’d say at least three out of every four is some type of cross from the wing. Yet we are asking Trossard, Martinelli, and Saka to cross as many balls with their weak foot as their favourite foot. You may have heard me say before that the easiest way to score a goal against a deep block is to go around the outside on either side. When you come inside, you are running towards the entirety of the block whereas if you beat the full back on the outside, then you are alone. It would just be nice and probably intelligent to have the option of Saka crossing with his left and Martinelli and Trossard with their right.
The third way that our team could refresh needs to happen regardless of the other two. When a new player shows up at your club, then a few things improve. Their presence gives everybody a lift. A lift of hope. It most certainly raises the levels of the others and I suppose that’s where I go back to my ridiculous analogy at the beginning. Men are men whether they are kicking a football or cooking spaghetti. We love competition and the best way to get us to improve or bring our best level to something is to put somebody next to us who looks like they might take our spot. Not only does a new signing give energy, but I bet you would see Martinelli and Trossard step up their game. It’s hard to throw Saka into this conversation because he seems to produce every game no matter what, but as you probably felt against Everton, he is being relied on to wave his magic wand too often and that is not fair to him or to our team’s high hopes. Again, if you read my last piece, you will know that my preference would be to go for a striker first. So, it’s not just a ‘winger thing.’ Havertz has improved and improved, but in order for him to continue to play at the high level that we have seen he needs a break and he needs competition. Jesus is erratic, which can be a good thing or a bad thing but this season he has been erratically bad.
The final way that the team could be refreshed is to loosen the control. Again, Arteta’s biggest success has been in turning us from an inconsistent mess of a team to a team that competes in every single game and is more than capable of winning any game against any team at any time. When you start wondering about whether he is the right guy for Arsenal, you need to consider the absolutely massive improvement on and off the field at our club that almost nobody else in Europe has achieved in the last five years. It is also fair to say that there is a step that some coaches never achieve from being competitive to winning silverware And that is fair, also. He will have to self analyze and wonder whether his tendency to lean into control is making us too easy to defend against. I can tell you as a coach sometimes it’s not that you have told the players to be risk averse but they ‘think’ that is what you want. If you think about a typical Arsenal attack or a typical Arsenal game, they do look extremely similar to each other. If they are similar to us, then they are similar to our opponents and therefore no matter how talented our players are, if the opponent knows what we are about to do then our execution becomes harder. That is up there in the top five issues. If Arteta could get a better balance in control and unpredictability in the final third then perhaps this is the light switch that changes our fortunes. We look like we are so concerned about being transitioned on that we are consumed with fear even when we have the ball 25 yards out. Six of the seven attacking players have such great potential in the world of unpredictability. Saka, Martinelli, Trossard, Odegaard, Nwaneri and Jesus all have hips made of jelly and have the ability to unbalanced defenses, but need to be encouraged to be boulder. Jesus for example is ripped by fans for trying too be individualistic, which perhaps he does at the wrong time, but the general idea is actually what we need not what we need to throw in the bin.
Arsenal are not stale. Please don’t misunderstand me.
Look at this tweet from Pedro…
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We are suffering because of expectations and the need for refreshing. We all sat on the couch or walked to the Emirates genuinely thinking that 5–0 was a fair bet. We knew that Craven Cottage would be tricky, but knowing that we would dominate, we would win by a goal or two. So then it’s fair to say that our balloon was popped twice in a week yet at the same time we were very impressive against a better team in Monaco in between these two games.
These frustrations will not go away because of expectation so let’s refresh because that is something that we can control.
POSITIVES:
Declan Rice:
I thought he had a much improved game. I saw one of those highlight reels and was very pleasantly surprised at how often he opened his hips and passed forward. This is his biggest need of improvement. The speed of his passing was much higher than everybody else which was frustrating at the same time.
It is also a joy watching him play in his most comfortable role. He has such a gift for anticipating danger. Everton had zero shots on goal and a good percentage of that was due to his positioning and anticipation.
Saka:
Much like Rice, when we are not up to speed Saka is often playing at his usual level. Perhaps this is his greatest gift. Consistency, regardless of circumstance. If he would have run behind the defence a few times, then the result would’ve been different as he looked like the one capable of finishing. To see his current level in comparison to others, this chart reminds us of what we have.
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Gabriel:
The third player who had a very good game. His tackle at the beginning of the game was pivotal or we would be even more upset. His passing improves and I think that Kiwior’s boldness in attempting longer passing is prodding Gabriel to try it.
Arteta subs:
Many well educated Arsenal commentators were saying how our subs lost us the game against Everton. I see their point, but Odegaard was having another off game, probably due to the fatigue of his new child.
He was uncharacteristically giving penetrative passes directly to the opposition so it’s unfair to claim that our coach took off the A+ version of Martin Ødegaard. I wasn’t expecting Nwaneri to be so quiet and that’s probably nothing to do with the coach either. The game needed a spark, and even though Jesus has been underwhelming, he certainly offers the unpredictability and spark. At least in theory. Martinelli was below the level again and so bringing on Trossard was obvious. On top of all of these individual switches, Arteta had an improvement to make after last season. He ran certain players into the ground and this season he has taken off Rice, Odegaard and Saka as three examples, far more frequently. He also hasn’t left players on the pitch who are suffering from knocks and potential injuries as can be seen by his removal of Declan Rice against Everton.
If Arteta criticism is justified, then moving Timber to the left didn’t work but then again he wasn’t having a great game on the right where he has been better recently.
Fans are simply getting too upset based on the name on the back of the jersey rather than the performance on the field.
U-17’s:
Congratulations to the under 17 Arsenal team who have just won the Flamengo Adidas Cup. We have a tendency to ignore these kind of achievements, but in order to win these kinds of tournaments you would think that there is at least one player in that group that will eventually play for the first team.
NEEDS:
Henry:
I think he might have a point…
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Through balls:
I’m not gonna ramble on about creating simple chances in the box because I do that way too often. Check out last weeks piece if you want to know some ideas on this.
The problem, however, does not just exist exclusively inside the box. There was the occasion where Everton pushed up and gave us 25 yards of space behind their defence. Kai peeled away and yet it never came. That is just one incident but it is a repeated theme that those who attend games see better than those of us on the couch with limited view.
Ultimately the job of a coach is two fold. Finding ways to deny your opponent from creating chances and scoring. Secondly, finding the simplest way for the group of players that you’ve been given to create and score goals. Everything else that you do is to get you in position to do these two things effectively.
Ever since the concept of Francis Jeffers arrived at Arsenal, we have largely struggled to create simple chances to score. That’s an awfully long time. France Jeffers was lauded because he was the ’ fox in the box’ that Arsenal needed and the fans were pining for. Why did they pine for this? Well, because we didn’t have a player who was scoring ‘simple goals’, and we were passing up too many opportunities to do so. It’s almost like the desire to try to attempt to score simple goals left Arsenal Football Club when Francis Jefferson did not work out. I’m trying not to include football back when Ian Wright and Thierry Henry were playing because that game was entirely different. Nobody parked the bus and there was lots more space everywhere. Now that football has dramatically changed it is up to Arsenal to figure it out. Sliding the ball behind the defence will always be an easier chance than endlessly passing it around the top of the box in a horseshoe pattern and trying to weave magic when there are 11 players in front of you trying to deny you. I beg Arsenal to be more risk averse and try this. If the coaching staff are concerned about giving up control then try it for the first half exclusively because if it doesn’t work out you still have another 50 minutes in the second half at least to change strategy and affect the end result.
Odegaard:
Can somebody get him a nanny? Quickly.
Shooting:
The need for us to come back to the thought of shooting outside the box is largely predicated by the lack of good movement inside the box. I fully understand that Arteta, as well as previous coaches, want to create the highest percentage opportunity, and I’ve always adored the patience with which Arsenal Football Club show on the pitch as I believe it’s part of our character and respect for the game. We do need to recognize when the crossing and finishing is not working that we have multiple midfielders with the ability to strike from 25 yards and closer. I was particularly frustrated at the lack of shooting from range against Fulham because the conditions were terrible for a goalkeeper and a few low shots would have at least brought a rebound or two.
HOPES:
Sterling situation:
There has to be an attitude related issue here. He isn’t an unproven kid. As mentioned previously, he doesn’t seem to take defending seriously. If Arteta has challenged him, then I can see where he simply cannot play him as any kind of minutes is a reward for disobedience. If this is true, then Sterling is crazy. He has been given a golden opportunity to be part of one of the best squads in Europe when he was not even going to be in a squad at all. We will see more in the Carabao Cup game, but I guess there’s a chance he won’t even be involved in this if it is attitude related.
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Maybe he wants to change?
Carabao Cup:
I know that Arteta will play a pretty strong team on Wednesday against Palace as he always does and I’m always torn about how I feel about that. I understand that he wants to win everything and that his team selection needs to say this if that is what he has preached to the players. I’m also a little scared of playing two semifinal ties in February during and after the busiest period in the history of Premier League football. I suppose I will settle on the fact that I’ll be happy if we win because that’s sort of the point, but if we don’t, I’m certainly not going to be heartbroken.
Most interesting part for me will be what we get from the young players. Will Lewis Skelly move into midfield cause he plays Tierney? Nwaneri will play but where? Will Max Dowman be the youngest player at 14 to get into a cup squad? He’s been training with the first team for almost the entirety of the season and with other big clubs sniffing around, it might be wise to let him have some sub minutes in a game that we can take or leave.
Injuries:
It was interesting to hear Arteta mention the potential need for January cover due to injuries. As I said, I think there is more transfer interest in attacking areas but a theme is developing at Arsenal where the same players are proving to be unreliable. Not necessarily their fault but if you can’t play then the reason is somewhat irrelevant if the teams potential is affected. Tomi, Zinchenko, Calafiori and Thomas Partey are the players that bring to mind.
I’ve been very interested to see that we have been linked to Alphonzo Davies who is available on a free in the summer and this talented young man also…
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I’d imagine that, even though we have plenty of left backs on paper, the paper seems rather fragile and too many of them stay on the paper and don’t get on the field.
Carlos Baleba:
Just wanted to put it out there that he is my choice for the next midfielder in the door. This likely won’t happen until the summer, but I think he has a higher ceiling than almost every young midfielder in Europe. In fact, I think that he is the full package. Has the same running power as Declan Rice combined with the first touched deception of Thomas
Partey. For some bizarre reason Brighton don’t start him every week.
Jersey:
I’m 50. Should a 50 year old wear this? It’s cool. I think.
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Photo courtesy of Arsenal.com
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Photo courtesy of Arsenal.com
TWEETS and THOUGHTS:
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Rashford is going on loan. Nobody is giving a guy that looks uninterested a 365K contract.
FINAL THOUGHT:
Don’t give up on Arsenal. So much is going right even though the bigger things are going wrong. As we saw with Liverpool this last week you can look invincible and then susceptible one week later.