Kevin Whitcher
Arsenal achieved their expected home win against Brighton after a noon kick off yesterday. Mesut Ozil, who appeared as a substitute last Monday evening was deemed unfit enough for another appearance, and Alex Iwobi came into the side as Elneny moved to the bench and Aaron Ramsey reverted to his more customary deeper midfield role. Rob Holding replaced the injured Koscielny.
Brighton didn’t show too much ambition going forward, although at 1-0 down after Monreal converted a loose ball in the area, they had a spell where they enjoyed some decent chances before the half-time whistle gave the Gunners time to regroup. I enjoyed their free kick routine that ended up hitting the post, and wish Arsenal could come up with something similarly imaginative.
For once, Lacazette failed to find the net, although he was unfortunate in hitting the post from distance very early on. Sanchez was the star man for Arsenal though, with the team’s most dangerous moments generally involving him in the build-up. He is going to be impossible to replace, although if Milan are seriously willing to part with £75 million for the player in January, the club should take it.
Ozil’s future is less certain. There are less clubs interested in taking him, and his decision next summer will be whether to accept whatever Arsenal feel like offering, or take a signing on fee elsewhere and possibly lesser wages than he might receive by staying in North London. I will be intrigued to see whether he makes the trips to Everton (who will surely have a new manager by then) and Manchester City. As it was, against Brighton, Iwobi did well enough, scoring a very nice goal to finish the game as a contest, benefitting from Alexis’ dream of a back-heeled pass.
Brighton only ventured forward occasionally in the second half, and I got the feeling this was a team that simply wanted to avoid a confidence sapping heavy defeat, often playing in a 6-3-1 formation, even after they went behind. It does look like they might struggle to stay in the top flight based on their performances so far. Walcott, Giroud and Elneny came on as subs after their team’s two goals had been scored. Given all three had played on Thursday night, they were hardly in need of more playing time. It was actually an opportunity to give a youngster or two a taste of the Premier League, Reiss Nelson being an obvious candidate, although Maitland-Niles was preferred on the bench. Alternatively, a few minutes in the first choice eleven would have been more useful for Jack Wilshere than Elneny. Granted, the latter only came on as a clock-eating sub just before injury time, but Wilshere could have been given 15 minutes, entering the fray at the same time as the other two subs.
It was a nothingy kind of game which will be quickly forgotten, which can be said about a lot of matches at the Emirates in recent years. There’s no harm in that – we had them in the days when the club were challenging for the title. But when there is a feeling that not terribly much is at stake, they tend not to remain in the memory for very long at all. I, for one, cannot get particularly excited about the club’s attempt to get back in the top four, who I predict will be Man Utd, Man City, Chelsea and Spurs, based on the season so far. So there is a palpable lack of tension at home matches much of the time. You find yourself not minding too much if the opposition score just to spice things up a bit. Or maybe so many seasons of repetition have increased the sense of detachment. Are the players, the manager, the directors and the majority owner genuinely hungry for success? Surely the club would have spent more than it received in the summer transfer window in that case. Or are they all in a lucrative comfort zone where maximising their potential is not really that important anymore? Sometimes it feels as if Alexis Sanchez, and perhaps the newer arrivals not as yet corrupted by the Colney Creche culture, are the only ones that really care.
Still, for Arsenal, a case of job done, points on the board, a move up the table. And a good result going into the international break, unlike the last time, following the trip to Liverpool. Since then, a series of undefeated games – Bournemouth, Cologne, Chelsea, Doncaster, West Brom, Bate Borisov and now Brighton. Something to build upon? Maybe. It was enlightening to see Manchester City’s approach at Chelsea the day before. Their superior goal threat had Chelsea on the ropes at times, and eventually paid dividends. Arsenal played with greater caution at the Bridge, which in fairness, they had to. Guardiola’s team had no such fears. The Gunners visit the Etihad in five weeks’ time. We wait to see if the team’s defensive game can handle that.
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