NLD VICTORY DELIVERS A NEW HALE-END HERO
THE BOY AT LEFT BACK IS A BIT SPECIAL
Arsenal put the last 10 days in the rear-view mirror with a brilliant performance that delivered Spurs their 11th defeat of the season. We won't know the true impact that result will have on our season until we see what happens against a better-coached team with more seasoned players... but this was the Premier League reset we wanted.
The crazy thing is not a lot changed between the two domestic cup games and what we saw last night. The boys put on an absolute clinic of disastrous finishing; they controlled the game, dominated the spaces, destroyed the career of an 18-year-old keeper, and truly showed how average Ange is as a manager at this level... but the reason we're not spitting feathers is the goals. Which really does tell you how desperate we are for new bodies. The system is the star too often… and we need a bit of special sauce right now to shine brighter.
That's not to say we didn't have moments of horror. Spurs were boxed in heavily for the opening 20 minutes of the game, but Djed Spence opened our defense with a stunning outside-of-the-boot cross that looked like it had found Solanke. He didn't account for Gabriel dropping the intervention of the season to take a clear-cut chance away from him. Kulusevski also managed to find space in our box after a melee. His shot was well saved by Raya.
Then that moment came. The 'how have we dominated like this and conceded again?'
It was Son, on the edge of the box, doing a madness and having a speculative pop... the ball clipped Partey, took a Frank Lampard-like diversion, and crept past a stranded Raya.
Horrible. I started shaking, heat going to my face, NOT THIS AGAIN.
We lost a bit of control of the game but kept pressing. Spurs were having a nightmare against us, conceding corners and soft free kicks. It felt like a matter of time, and it was. Declan fizzed a horrible cross 4 yards out from the goal line, everyone missed, Gabriel marauded to the back post and caused a Solanke own goal. He really felt that moment. His 5th goal of the season. What a monster.
We landed the second before the half closed out. Thomas Partey nicked the ball on the halfway line; he found Odegaard with a short pass. Our captain stroked a pass into Trossard and you know what he did? He smashed it from 17 yards out under their keeper.
Amazing what happens when you shoot in open play. Two goals up with one shot on target didn't really reflect the dominance, but it did highlight our main issue... we're not very good with our dominance right now when it comes to output.
The second half was a bit different. The game was still really intense, but mostly for Spurs. Arsenal players were feeding off the terrible Spurs shape that left them exposed badly. I just couldn't believe how lost the players looked. The manager totally exposed his teenagers, the senior players didn't protect their baby keeper, and there was no real idea of how to win that game.
Arsenal didn't help themselves in front of goal. Shots were flying over the bar, great chances were butchered, final-third decisions left a lot to be desired.
... but the defending was immense. MLS is some player. I'm not sure I've seen many 18-year-olds step into a team as good as Arsenal's and do damage like he does. His balance and poise levels would make him a good warrior in Elden Ring. You can't get around him. He has a low center of gravity, he's powerful, and he can move away from you with explosive movement. His passing is exceptional, his one-vs-one defending is top class, he looks like he should be getting a call-up to the England team. My man of the match by a long way.
Our whole defense was exceptional. No point in gassing up Timber and Saliba every week. But Big Gabi? Wow. One of our players of the season. He embodies everything we lacked under late-stage Wenger teams. Watching him shuffle the ball out for a corner as a teenager tries to get it off him... then cheer like he's just won the Ballon d'Or summed him up. A warrior, a leader, the metronome for beastly aggression. Get that man tied down to a new deal. What an incredible performance.
Thomas Partey continued to demonstrate that he's one of the best number 6s in the league right now. The man has closed 2,200 minutes this season, 400 short of his best ever for Arsenal. Keep him fresh; we need him. Declan Rice looked like he used that downtime really well; he covered loads of ground, particularly with his off-the-ball work.
But the most important thing? The fans in the stadium showed up, with force, and the connection between them and the players looked unreal. Declan Rice commented on it after the game, stating that the online idiots aren't the people they care about; it's the people that show up who matter. It's something you always have to keep in mind, even though it's really hard: the algorithms prioritize the most rancid ideas and views. But those ideas aren't the things normal fans talk about.
The power of that fan performance will do so much good. Players know we're onside. They'll go into training with some extra bounce in their step. They'll head into that Villa game knowing that they have a 12th man behind them. Players don't need fans when they're winning; they need them when they lose. And they pay attention to that.
The only real negative I have out of the evening is the same one I wrote about earlier in the week. Our issues this season aren't because of how we're coached; it's been PGMOL abominations, fitness, and injuries. Arsenal are extremely depleted at the moment, a large chunk of our players are visibly broken, and the fixture list just gets worse and worse with fewer and fewer options. We need bodies to get us over the line, and I'm just not sure how much we can do in this window to make that happen. The club could start by signing Neto on a permanent deal to free up a loan option in the Premier League; they should try and bring a striker or a winger forward, and they should stop training players over the next few weeks to preserve their energy and mental health.
The gap between Arsenal and Liverpool is now 4 points. Liverpool's next three away games are Brentford, Bournemouth, and Everton. They are not looking great, and they haven't suffered a major injury to Trent, VVD, or Salah. If that happens, they're in trouble, and we have to be ready for them.
Exciting times ahead.
Before I go, I wanted to say thanks to all the people who have been reading since I switched to Substack. Numbers are crazy lately. Who knew blogging would come back into fashion and so many of you would still have me as your number one toilet read for 17 years? A true blessing. x
With reading a few comments yesterday-- about how quiet it gets here after Arsenal win?
Thought this excerpt from Tim Stillman's column yesterday over at Arseblog-- was spot on:
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"I have found the vitriol online really difficult to connect with of late. Sometimes I squint and I can see how people, especially young men, are radicalised in different and more serious ways on the internet. It’s so easy to spiral and foam and froth and sit in the company of others who are spiraling and foaming and frothing. As your anger rises, you want answers and you want people to be punished for making you feel bad.
Such angry spaces are typically filled by grifters and populists, who will stoke the fires in pursuit of their own interests. I think, from an Arsenal perspective, I have found it very difficult to understand the ferocity of it. I try not to judge people too much for how they vent frustration but I have honestly found it remarkable and unrecognisable.
Arsenal are not perfect. There is criticism and scrutiny to go around but Arsenal remain a really good team with a really good core of players who are at good ages. That’s not to take the future for granted of course. And that is why Wednesday night felt so important, to clear some of that bad air, turn some of that volume down, even temporarily.
I will leave the payoff line to my Arsenal Vision Podcast colleague Clive Palmer, who said in the NLD Instant Reaction podcast, ‘It felt like the silent majority reclaimed their team tonight.’ Sometimes pensiveness can create silence but Arsenal still have a team worth shouting about."
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There's a massive audience of Arsenal supporters and fans who visit this place-- many who pay for the privilege to read and comment-- who don't need to hear the same, tired, redundant critiques of their team-- from people who can't work through their own inability to think in healthier terms.
MLS did interview with Ian wright, wright, wright last night after the match and said his grandmother was in stadium watching him and he didn't want to embarrass himself.