Lewis-Skelly impresses, Zubimendi crumbles, and more from a horrid weekend of Arsenal.
I deleted Twitter from my phone on Sunday. I logged on that afternoon, in the wake of Arsenal’s loss at home to Bournemouth and Manchester City’s steamrolling of Chelsea, and what awaited me on my timeline was just too much. Even people that I normally view as level-headed seem to have thrown in the towel. It’s a level of stark negativity that I just don’t want to wade through anymore. So, at least for the foreseeable future, all my posts on the old bird app will consist of me promoting my pieces from my laptop.
And look, I understand the doom and gloom. I feel it too. From the moment Michael Oliver blew for full time at the Emirates Stadium, I have been in a funk all weekend. I’ve tried to fight it with a mixture ofPokopia, exercise, and Chinese food, but I’m still glum, still deeply concerned about what may lie ahead for the Gunners.
For me, a big rule of thumb in my life has always been that people show their true colors in moments of adversity. That remains the case right now.
Online football fandom has turned into a race to the bottom, in which people compete to emotionally divest first when the going gets tough and seal their hearts in bubble wrap at the earlies sign of disappointment. Worse still, more and more claim to be supporters while blatantly attempting to will catastrophes into existence so their own points can proven. Too many people would rather be right than be happy. Just as Chelsea and Spurs fans root for their teams to lose against Manchester City, some Arsenal “fans” don’t want the best for their club.
So when Mikel Arteta’s men succumbed to Saturday’s 2-1 defeat, many in the social media world demonstrated their true colors. A portion went after summer signings that they haven’t liked since the beginning. I saw the same people going after the club’s current top scorer this season, the same people going after Noni Madueke. The one who faced the brunt of this, though, was Martin Zubimendi. Too many people I follow on Twitter were publicly yearning for a return to a midfield that featured Thomas Partey (who now faces seven rape charges and one charge of sexual assault from four different women), characterizing the Spaniard as some horrendous signing despite being coveted by many of the best teams in football.
Then there were those who continued on their crusade against the manager. This whole scene has featured a steady “Arteta Out” undertone, which is now reaching a full crescendo. And it’s one thing to want to move on from the manager if the Gunners finish yet another season trophyless. It’s another to claim belligerently that he should be sacked even if Arsenal win the league. Or to harken back to the transparently false “Pep’s cone man” claims and characterize the Spaniard’s time in charge as a complete nothingburger, especially as that requires purposefully ignoring the journey the club has been on since the end of 2019. Or to run polls on Twitter in which the choices are “Arsenal win the title, but Arteta stays” and “Arsenal finish trophyless and sack Arteta”, again perpetuating this insane idea that sacrificing the Premier League in order to drive away the manager who has the Gunners competing for it would be worthwhile.
Others chastised Arteta and the club for asking for fan support ahead of the game. I get and agree with the widespread annoyance that the manager asked attendees to “bring their dinner” for the game and then served up such a putrid performance. But as always, people are going overboard with that sentiment. No, the manager shouldn’t just refuse to speak during pressers. No, the club shouldn’t just delete their account or refrain from posting ahead of games. That, not what they do regularly, would be weird and foolish.
And then of course are the rest waved the white flag, despite Arsenal still being six points clear. I understand the rationale, unfortunately — the Gunners go to the Etihad Stadium next weekend and City have a game in hand. That lead could dissipate quickly. But while I share the same concern regarding the team’s next Premier League fixture, I just can’t get behind immediately trying to head off a potential emotional dagger by treating it as reality far in advance. It’s like breaking up with a romantic partner in your head weeks before telling them you want to do that for real.
That’s the thing that really convinced me to commit to Bluesky for at least the remainder of the season. For football fans, the other app has incentivized constant headloss. Whether it’s the less-than-exhilarating style of play or the club reportedly being open to offers for Myles Lewis-Skelly and Ethan Nwaneri or amateur psychoanalysis for mundane quotes from the manager, every week brings with it at least one instance of forced collective outrage.
I don’t say this from an ivory tower, by the way. I too have been swept up in the hysteria and the arguments of the day. I was not immune or siloed from what social media essentially programs you to do. But I’ve reached a point where I’m exhausted by it. I just want to watch football, support my team, and talk about it like an adult with other adults. Twitter has made that damn near impossible for quite some time. So I’m out, at least for a little while.
Unfortunately, it isn’t just online where I’m seeing those aforementioned true colors in adversity. On the pitch on Saturday, I saw an Arsenal side that is losing steam at the worst point in the season to do so, both physically and mentally. Certain players displayed a lack of effort. Others displayed a lack of mettle. And some showed off a lack of quality.
To be fair, I think it’s going under the radar a bit that Arsenal were in a tough spot going into this match. The Gunners arrived at the Emirates without Jurrien Timber, Riccardo Calafiori, Martin Ødegaard, Mikel Merino, and Bukayo Saka. Piero Hincapié made the bench but probably wasn’t fit to play; he did not step onto the pitch that day. Injuries and fatigue were getting to a squad that should have been big enough to cope with it. Meanwhile, Bournemouth had not played in three weeks. They were as fresh as could be.
But keeping all that in mind, Arsenal’s display was immensely concerning. Far too many passes went backward. Their attacking play lacked urgency and incisiveness. Even so, they created multiple big chances and failed to convert any of them. When there was no one to go long to, they hoofed the ball up the pitch. The technical level of this team without the current absentees is excruciating.
As a result, Bournemouth looked far better. They played better football. They were deserved winners. But really sets off the alarm bells for me is that they had more belief. Arsenal seem devoid of that at the moment. The pressure of the run-in looks to have gotten to them.
Meanwhile, City look like the best side in England. They’re playing with confidence, with smiles on their faces, with the wind at their back and no yellow cards in their faces despite certainly deserving a couple. Pep Guardiola’s men blew the doors off Chelsea on Sunday. With the form they’re in, the away match against them next weekend looms terrifyingly.
But this does not have to be a moment Arsenal approach with fear. This can be an opportunity. An opportunity to go to City’s ground and metaphorically plunge a stake into their hearts personally. As Gary Neville (and I can’t believe I’m agreeing with him right now) said following City’s victory at Stamford Bridge, Arsenal can still win the league next weekend.
The Gunners need to show us they can shake off a poor start to the final stretch of the season. Other iterations of this team have stumbled at the finish line. This one doesn’t have to. It’s still entirely in their hands. So please, Arsenal. I’m begging you. Show us that you are a team who can pick themselves up and get a title charge over the line. Show us that that is who you are. Show us that when things get tough, you have more fortitude than your average football fan on Twitter.
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Ballers
Myles Lewis-Skelly
It has been a hard sophomore season for Lewis-Skelly, one that has seriously called into question his long-term place in this Arsenal team just a year out from his wonderful breakout campaign. But on Saturday he started with both Calafiori and Hincapié unable to do so, and I think he acquitted himself well. The 19-year-old handled Bournemouth sensation Rayan quite well, keeping the Brazilian quiet for most of the match. He did lose Eli Junior Kroupi at the back post for the opener, but that did come from a deflected ball off William Saliba.
On the ball, he offered more progression than anyone in the Arsenal midfield. He was more willing to pass the ball forward than his colleagues and also carried usefully on a few occasions. Lewis-Skelly accumulated six passes into the final third and three successful dribbles from three attempted. He also won five of six ground duels and two of three aerial duels. In a sea of terrible performances, he was one of the very few who looked serviceable. With the midfield situation worsening for Arsenal, I think he needs to be viewed as a potential solution there.
Viktor Gyökeres
He ended with some annoying, clumsy moments but generally speaking, I think Gyökeres was Arsenal’s best forward on the day. He made his runs in behind with intent and looked like one of the only players in red and white who understood what was at stake for his side. He also got on the ball a fair bit (26 touches), which has tended to lead to decent showings from him.
Gyökeres was the one who converted Arsenal’s penalty, and I do think that moment has gone under the radar slightly. In the moment, the pressure was immense. I know I was nervous. But the Swede stepped up to the spot and coolly smashed home an equalizer when his team needed to get back into the game. I think that’s a serious mentality that can’t be overlooked. Additionally, his finish for his goal that was ruled offside was quite nice as well.
I will concede that he was pretty poor serving as an outlet for long balls and that he did have opportunities to score more for the Gunners. But those weren’t really high-xG chances; anyone really laying into him for those misses was always going to find something to vilify him for. I think he will be critical for closing out Arsenal’s quarterfinal tie with Sporting.
Fallers
Martin Zubimendi
I want to say this from the jump: I still highly rate Zubimendi and am happy Arsenal signed him. I don’t wish we had midfielders who departed the club last summer with the Spaniard in the side. However, I don’t think it can be ignored that he is in terrible form at a very critical junction in the season.
On Saturday, Zubimendi was downright appalling. He very typically refused to play the ball forward, helping Bournemouth ensnare the Gunners in the pressing trap Andoni Iraola’s men laid for them. As a result, Zubimendi ended up at fault in some way for both of the visitors’ goals. For Kroupi’s, his misplaced pass across the field to Ben White gave Bournemouth the throw-in from which they scored. In the 74th minute, he lost Alex Scott, allowing the Englishman to dribble into the hosts’ penalty area and slot the winner past David Raya.
I don’t know when in the match this happened, but I’ve seen a clip going around since the game in which Zubimendi required consoling from multiple teammates. I think he has been overplayed within an inch of his life this season; in his first campaign in England, he currently sports 3,752 minutes in all competitions. Clearly, the strain is getting to him. I think he needs to come out of the team for a while.
Kai Havertz
When he scored the winner at the death at Sporting on Tuesday, I hoped it could be the start of a return to prominence for Havertz. But Saturday was a massive step backwards for the German. Once again starting in midfield behind Gyökeres, he was clearly tasked with serving as a focal point for long balls before combining with the forwards to get the ball up the pitch. The only problem is, he failed massively in both respects.
Normally so reliable in this respect, Havertz simply failed to win his duels. He lost seven of ten ground tests, as well as both aerial duels. And when it came to contributing in attack, he created zero chances. I remember one passage of play in which he received the ball on the counter with acres to run into and the front three making runs ahead of him before proceeding to play a ball directly to a Bournemouth player.
Perhaps worst of all is the chances Havertz squandered in front of goal. He had two headers from point-blank range off of corners and missed both, finishing with no shots on target and leaving 0.96 xG on the table. At a time of the season when Arsenal need someone to step up and drag them to results, it is a performance that is quite hard to take.
Noni Madueke
Starting in Saka’s stead once again, Madueke produced a thoroughly unconvincing performance against Bournemouth. His two corners were both threatening and he got past Adrien Truffert on a few occasions, but he didn’t do much outside of that. Madueke finished with no shots, no chances created, one successful dribble from four attempted, one accurate cross, and nine accurate passes during his 54 minutes on the pitch. That’s not to mention that he appears to have developed a highly annoying habit of dribbling the ball out of bounds under minimal pressure at least a couple times a game.
But what really infuriated me about the Englishman’s performance wasn’t his sterility in attack. It was his lack of effort in defense. For Bournemouth’s first goal, he absolutely shirked his duties and allowed Truffert to roam into Arsenal’s third, creating an overload against White that allowed the visitors to fire the ball into the Gunners’ box. In real time, you could see the right back have a go at the winger before understandably failing to control the situation.
It’s especially frustrating because I really like Madueke’s raw attributes. And on occasion, he has proven extremely threatening for opponents. But when he doesn’t he doesn’t produce much, and that’s a problem.
Gabriel Martinelli
Again, while I understand that Arteta may have been a bit constrained by the fitness of his squad — I suspect Trossard was not in good enough shape to start given that he limped off the pitch at Sporting — I feel that sometimes he doesn’t fully appreciate that some players are starters and some are “finishers”, as he calls them. I think Martinelli is a finisher, and his lack of involvement against Bournemouth highlighted that. The Brazilian managed only seven touches in the first half before adding just two more to that tally ahead of his substitution in the 54th minute.
From those nine total touches, Martinelli accordingly didn’t achieve much. He took no shots, created one chance worth 0.01 xA, completed only four passes, and couldn’t complete his only attempted cross. He also lost both his lone ground duel and his lone aerial duel. The forward was completely invisible, which is incredibly disappointing following his heroics and Sporting.
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