As a Celtic fan, I can testify that a trip to Dubai doesn’t always bring about the best results. For Mikel Arteta’s men a trip to the middle east seems to have done them no harm whatsoever.
After defeating Sheffield United in a game which really could have finished a cricket score, Martin Odegaard spoke to Sky Sports and discussed the fatigue that the squad felt before the break, suffering three straight losses and winning just one match in seven. Whether it was a case of mental tiredness or heavy legs, some warm weather training has proved to be exactly what the doctor ordered.
Mikel Arteta and Martin Odegaard were both careful to say that Monday night’s trip to Sheffield United was a “tough place to go” when being interviewed after a six-nil demolition. Perhaps they meant for the home fans, as they have watched twenty-one goals let in the last four games alone. The blades have been rather blunt up front to compliment this, scoring just one goal in their last four outings.
In turn, it makes Monday Night such a difficult game to analyse. Were Arsenal really so good? Or was it another low point in a bottomless pit of bad days at the office for Sheffield United? The truth tends to be somewhere in the middle.
| Sheffield United | Stat | Arsenal |
|---|---|---|
| 0.24 | Xg | 2.31 |
| 19% | Possession | 81% |
| 4 | Shots | 22 |
| 0 | Shots on Target | 10 |
| 0 | Big Chances Missed | 2 |
The Set Up
Arsenal’s line-up raised no eyebrows, there seemed no need to change. The same side which dismantled Newcastle by four goals to one was named. A back four of White, Saliba, Gabriel and Kiwior started for the fifth consecutive outing. Jorginho sat as a single-pivot in front with Rice, Odegaard and Havertz creating a somewhat fluid central three in attack albeit Havertz clearly being the vocal point. No prizes for guessing that Saka and Martinelli kept their places.
As for Chris Wilder, you had to feel a little sorry for him devising a plan to try and mute this rampant Arsenal attack. With a limited squad at his disposal and the likes of Cameron Archer, Max Loew and Mason Holgate unavailable, it was never going to be an easy task. Yet the decision to play a back four with natural Central Defender Auston Trusty at left back up against in-from Bukayo Saka was simply suicidal. By the time Wilder moved to a back five with Trusty playing his favoured role as a wide centre-back, Arsenal were already cruising and three goals to the good.
In what was already a tough enough test, such a careless approach just seemed bizarre.
Martin Odegaard
Once again the Norwegian put in a stellar performance, reminding us how important he is to Mikel Arteta’s side title ambitions. He ran the show in midfield and seemed two steps ahead of everyone else. Whisper it but almost in a DeBruyne-esque fashion.
When facing Arsenal it is imperative that you restrict Odegaard’s use of the ball, particularly in advanced areas of midfield. When he can roam on the right-hand side and link with the likes of Saka and Havertz, the uphill battle for opponents becomes ever-steeper.
As the diagram displays, on Monday night he was in his element and allowed to play in those half spaces on the right. It’s little surprise the Gunners were so productive.
When he signed for Arsenal in the January window of 2021, it was clear he had talent and skill. Yet, in the previous two seasons in particular we have seen more intelligence in his attacking play in terms of how he times his runs and positions himself. Whether this is solely down to personal growth, or down to Arteta replicating Guardiola’s famed positional play is unclear. Although, it has coincided with a major upturn in Arsenal’s performances, which I doubt is a coincidence.
Take the opening goal of the other night, did it look a tad familiar?
A cut back from the byline, where he happens to find himself in the right place at the right time surrounded by bodies and sweeps the ball home. Where have we seen that?
Wolves three months ago?
Manchester United earlier in the season?
Or was it against Lens in a Champions League clash?
The point is that while most of his attributes are on the ball related, such as his crossing passing and dribbling, the Norwegian has become a reliable midfielder who chips in with a solid amount of goals over a season taking a slight burden off the forwards.
A title challenge for Arsenal?
Arteta spoke after the match saying “A great night – it’s a really difficult place to come but the way we started the game obviously made the difference. We were really aggressive, really positive and we showed real quality, especially in the final third to take the game into a position where it was in a big favour for us and then we maintained it. We maintained the rhythm, the hunger and I love that about the team.”
The elephant in the room is where this leaves them in the title race. Their major frustration will be that they are competing with two fellow super-teams in Liverpool and Manchester City. While Arsenal are without a doubt the in-form side in England, the question becomes how they react later on in the season when the pressure ramps up. Seven straight league wins is no mean feat, although cast yourself back to last season as March began. Arteta’s men had also reeled off seven straight victories before meeting Liverpool at Anfield. Whether dropping points at Merseyside was conducive to a title challenge crumble we’ll never truly know. By fact though, it was the first game in a run of four where they would fail to win a single game, and in the long term win just three of their final nine games. A 79% win rate dropped to 23%.
For balance however, Arsenal are currently performing at a better level than they did at this point last season. On that seven-game run, they had a positive goal difference of 17 (with 4 of the seven games coming at home). This season just three of the seven games have come at home but they have recorded a positive goal difference of 28. Moreover, the additions of Havertz and Rice have dramatically improved the Gunners’ defensive performances meaning the likes of conceding three to a relegation struggler like Southampton now seems unfathomable. They have conceded the lowest amount of shots on target this season (see above) of any side while also becoming even more ebullient in attack. At early stages of the season there was worry that they had sacrificed goals scored for less conceded, but the balance created has struck a cord as they became the first Premier League side to score five or more times in three consecutive away matches.
So are they favourites? If you listen to Opta and the bookies then they still sit comfortably third and I’ve got to say I agree. Man City will likely secure another title with Liverpool close behind. Although those odds could fluctuate after Sunday.
It’s no slight on Arsenal it really isn’t, but they are fighting with two experienced battlers, two battlers who have enjoyed great success and while it’s true that experience can be overstated and fall second to quality, the argument then becomes who has the most “quality”? And when all three sides field their strongest squads, Arsenal’s for me falls just bellow Liverpool’s in second and Manchester City in first. Although if Arsenal do go on to win the league, it would not surprise, it is truly hard to call.
Perhaps we are guilty of not just enjoying the experience of a title race. As someone heavily invested on Liverpool winning, it can be difficult to take a birds-eye view and recognise that this is one of the greatest title races that we are currently witnessing. It may never be like this again. With Jurgen Klopp departing and Man City’s future status up in the air, we may never see three truly world-class teams battling it out till the end. Perhaps we should just admire.
As for Sheffield United, it is truly a story of doom and inevitable relegation. You have to feel for the Blades’ support. While last season’s fairy-tale promotion would give them never-dying memories, it was a slight overachievement. To supplementally lose Berge and Ndiaye and fail to properly replace them meant it was always going to be a struggle.
Chris Wilder said after the match
“I understand the supporters leaving early. It’s a painful season. The boys are a damaged group of players. It’s been a long season and they’ve had to take some big hits. We have to take that responsibility. We can’t get away from that. It might be time for me to take a peek at who takes us forward in the next 10, 11 games. I’ve got some big decisions to make.
There were certainly some disappointing performances all over the park and when you’re not at a level that gives you half a chance, you get punished brutally like we have done today. They were in a different league, a different planet to us. We couldn’t lay a glove on them.”
The facts stand, the last two seasons they have been a part of the Premier League have gone down in the record books for the wrong reasons. Finishing bottom place with 23 points in 2020/21 and 16 from safety, this season they sit with just 13 points and 11 from safety already. Although when you hear that the sandwich-hating man that is Chris Wilder – the man who managed them in 2020/21 – was re-appointed to save them from the drop, how can you pretend to be surprised?
The reality is that this isn’t a side who are in endangering becoming a “yo-yo club”. This currently is a side that will struggle to stay in the Championship, they have more of a 2017/18 Sunderland feel to them. Changes must be made, and quick.
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