Could and should

Morning.

It’s a tough day to write, because like most of you, I’m sure, I’m a bit worried about what we’ve seen from Arsenal in the last week or so. In truth, I think there are things that have been a bit concerning since the start of the season, but it must be acknowledged there have been mitigating factors.

There has been a big mix of could and should. I think we could have beaten Brighton if we’d kept 11 men on the pitch; I think we could have beaten Man City with a full complement of players; but on both occasions we were reduced to 10 men in absurd circumstances. Not a single player from any of the other 19 teams has been dismissed for anything similar, and yet somehow we’ve been punished twice.

Despite the opening half an hour not being great against Bournemouth, we could have won that game, but another red card that’s only a red card for Arsenal scuppered that one for us. And I think we should have beaten Liverpool, even with the loss of Gabriel and finishing that game with a back four that will probably be a pub-quiz question in a few years time. Newcastle is the only game this season we absolutely, unquestionably deserved to lose.  Even so, we could have nicked an equaliser late on, Declan Rice should have scored. That performance could not have been much worse, and it’s one that the manager should take serious lessons from.

Could and should. Then you take into account the loss of Martin Odegaard, injuries to Riccardo Calafiori, Jurrien Timber, Mikel Merino (almost immediately on arrival) and Ben White (like the captain usually so reliable), and you can’t help feel like things just aren’t going our way. These aren’t excuses, but they are reasons.

When Mikel Arteta sounded his defiant message about how we can’t use injuries an excuse, it was a public message to his players, but I can’t help but wonder if they too are feeling the weight of all the things that have gone wrong. You can say they’re professional, it’s their job – and for some it’s an opportunity to play when others haven’t been available – but they are only human. It’s not the reason why we played so badly on Saturday, but there is a psychology to sport that is undeniable. Insert that classic Arsene Wenger quote about confidence here.

I could be way off the mark here, but I am curious as to what induces such a collective and individual malaise over the course of 90 minutes. Is it just one of those days? Can it be explained as simply as that? Perhaps. I think sometimes a team or a group of players reach their limit, after which something needs to change to spark them back into life.

I’d like to see better balance in the team going forward. Stop playing players out of position for a start. Thomas Partey can do a job at right-back but he is a midfielder. Jurrien Timber can do a job at left-back, but he’s far better on the right, in my opinion. Even if your options on the other side aren’t as strong, maybe that’s offset by the fact others are in their natural position.

I think Declan Rice is a better 6 than an 8. I don’t really know what Leandro Trossard is anymore. Is he a winger? Not really. Is he a false 9? Sometimes. What he has delivered for the club since his arrival from Brighton has been very, very good, but I don’t know where I’d play him anymore. I saw a stat that said he and Kai Havertz made no passes to each other in the Newcastle game. For a duo that seemed to click very well at times last season, they’ve gone the other direction.

Will Martin Odegaard be the spark? Potentially. I think he is the glue to the way we attack when we attack well. It’s possible he too would have been dragged down by the collective performance against Newcastle on Saturday, but just as possible he might have found the right pass. Instead of Trossard clumping it carelessly too far ahead of Bukayo Saka, the captain might have slid it through perfectly to his first half run between the Newcastle centre-halves. Would a goal then have changed the dynamic of the game? We’ll never know.

As I said yesterday though, I worry a bit about the creative burden falling on one man, especially after such a long time out with a difficult injury. His return will have to be managed carefully, don’t expect 90 minutes of brilliance three times a week, so other players will have to step up. In the medium term though, I think Mikel Arteta and Edu need to have a very serious conversation about what this group of attacking players are capable of producing – in part because of what is delivered to them. Have the conversation about a striker or a winger, by all means. It’s perfectly valid, but I also think the kind of service the current players get is a something to consider too.

What I would also say though is, is that when things aren’t great and you have a couple of bad results, it’s very easy to see everything through a negative lens. That’s human nature, and while I’m not saying it’s wrong, it is worth remembering this is a team capable of much, much better. It’s probably why falling below the standards we’ve set in recent seasons feels so acute, so let’s hope that the resolve and resilience we have displayed time and again is what gets us out of this little funk. A couple of wins before the next Interlull would do just that, but it will require far, far better than we saw against Newcastle obviously.

Righto, I’m gonna leave it there for now. We will have an Arsecast Extra for you in a little while, of course. We’ve put out the call for questions on Threads @gunnerblog and @arseblog with the hashtag #arsecastextra – or if you’re an Arseblog Member on Patreon, leave your question in the #arsecast-extra-questions channel on our Discord server.

Pod should be out around noon. For now, have a good one.

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