MARTINELLI & BOSSARD DO IT AGAIN
Arsenal are a mature Champions League side now. We’ve moved on from naivety. The boys can now head to a very tough stadium, play a very good team depleted, and exit with three points from a pretty forgettable performance. That’s huge progress and it bodes well for the Super League phase of the tournament.
San Mamés is loud, big teams lose their heads there, and the opening 20 minutes did not go all our way. Bilbao had a very organised press setup to make things difficult for us and because all their players are so gifted on the ball, they were finding pockets to thread balls in behind us.
Arsenal were missing big players and we rolled with the same forward line we had out against Forest at the weekend. The only major change in the side was Odegaard and Ethan were passed up for another Merino cameo performance. That one tweak seemed to really take the spice out of our attacking play. Eze and Madueke flattered to deceive in a quiet game by their standards. Gyokeres was widely panned for a nothing game and Thierry took time out to highlight his poor touch, something you know he’s had cooking for a while.
But… we were in control. Bilbao tried to cheat with fanciful diving, they tried to outmuscle with some ropey tackles, and they tried to go right through us… nothing worked. Arsenal were just too powerful for them to break down. Our defence was outrageously solid the whole game. It doesn’t seem to matter who steps in, we’re just really well drilled.
Mosquera took most of the defensive attention for his rugged Premier League display and his brave passing, but people really did overlook Big Gabriel who had double the defensive contributions of his central partner. It’s really hard to settle into a defence as a young player if you’re playing with average players. Just look at Yoro at United. Mosquera can play the way he does because he’s being looked after by one of the best in the game.
The game looked like it was going to struggle to break our way even though players were knocking at the door of Unai Simón. It needed the DREAMPACTORS (dream + impactors) to intervene. That was Trossard who came on at 65 for Gyokeres and Martinelli who came on at 71 for Eze. One minute after entering the field of play, Trossard set Martinelli loose down the middle, the Brazilian screeched ahead of chasing defenders, looked at his feet the whole way, then slotted under the keeper. The boys went nuts, that one meant something.
The second to finish off the game was a reverse of roles. Martinelli playing provider. Mikel Merino started the move from the right of the pitch, doing really well to shape a pass to Declan with a heavy challenge hitting him. Declan gave the ball to Gabi who, this time, looking up, sauntered into the box evading four players, hit the byline, found Trossard, and he took one touch and flicked his shot into the top corner with some help from a deflection.
Unbelievable. Two of our starters from last season, benched, and they came on to make a difference for the second game in a row. That is squad depth, that is a good training ground culture, that is what we need to see all season long.
Three points in the Champions League opener is the story. Are there rough edges to smooth? Sure. But I think the roughest edge in our team at the moment is our attacking unit that is missing Bukayo Saka, Kai Havertz, and Martin Odegaard. It’s rough, but still producing goals. The depth is working, relationships are getting stronger, and players are finding their feet.
Gyokeres doesn’t have a silk touch, we know that, he’s never going to be Thierry, but I did like that he was putting his head on the end of things and making strong runs even if not Thierry-perfect. Madueke was a bit less polished in this game than the one at the weekend and he’s made five appearances with no G&As so far. That’s not the full story, but this has to be a season of goals and assists for him, especially if he wants to threaten Bukayo moving forward. Eze just didn’t really click, but again, we haven’t played with a left sided attacker like that, and I suspect Hincapié is going to help him on that front.
Defensively, sound as a pound. Timber was immense again, Saliba is getting back to fitness slowly, we have insane quality and depth, and if we can keep more of them fit for longer this season it’s going to be really hard to break us down.
The midfield still hasn’t clicked fully. Declan looked leggy at times, though he did improve as the game went on, and he created more chances than anyone. Zubimendi didn’t have his best game, but he’s still feeling out the position and working out partnerships all over the pitch. I am actually really looking forward to seeing Odegaard back in the team, we missed his pressing, and I think his creativity will bounce back hard when he returns and gets a run. We write players off far too easily, especially our captain.
Ok, that’s me done. Get the On The Whistle NOW. It’s only for members. x
Podcast## CHAMPIONS LEAGUE 🏆 | ON THE WHISTLE | ATHLETIC CLUB (A)
Pedro
·
Sep 16
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE 🏆 | ON THE WHISTLE | ATHLETIC CLUB (A)
Pedro and Johnny are going LIVE after the Champions League opener against Athletic Club. Should be a banger. Arsenal have gone ALL IN with their starting 11.
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