Match report – Player ratings – Arteta reaction – Quotes round-up
Let me preface this blog by acknowledging that we extended our lead over Man City at the top of the Premier League yesterday, and that’s a good thing. The issue, of course, is that we didn’t extend it as much as we could have, and that’s both frustrating and does nothing to assuage the low-level anxiety we’re all living with this season.
I can only speak for myself, but every single thing that doesn’t go perfectly racks up the fear that it will come back to haunt us in the end. So, gaining a point on City isn’t a bad thing, how can it be? But leaving those two points behind at Nottingham Forest plays into an idea that despite our lead at the top, we’re not behaving or performing like champions elect. More on that anon.
Mikel Arteta made three changes to the team that beat Chelsea, with David Raya returning in goal and Noni Madueke and Gabriel Martinelli in the wide positions either side of Viktor Gyokeres. I thought James made a good point in his on the whistle video about attacking combinations, and while there was a suggestion post-game that Bukayo Saka missed out because of a little niggle, there wasn’t really any evidence that our starting front trio were capable of connecting the way you need them to, especially away from home.
That said, this was a game we should have been leading by half-time. Martinelli missed a huge chance at the back post to make 1-0 just before the half-hour mark, and a couple of minutes later, having been played through by Madueke, Martin Zubimendi chose to cross it rather than shoot when I think we know he has the kind of finishing ability which made that first option the wrong one.
Then not long before the break, we had the kind of moment for Gyokeres that he thrived upon at Sporting. He had the entire Forest half to run into after a mistake from Murillo, but he never looked comfortable, couldn’t do enough to hold off and get away from the defenders, and his shot was blocked. The defender did well, but much like everything else in the 57 minutes he played before being replaced, the Swede didn’t do well enough.
After Martinelli was hooked at the break, he did get 15 minutes or so in the second half to play with Leandro Trossard, the one player we’ve convinced ourselves he works best with, but there was no improvement. He remains, for me anyway, a considerable disappointment and ultimately a bit of a problem. I know Gabriel Jesus hardly pulled up any trees when he came on, but the situations are different. With him we’re trying to squeeze the last drops out of a player who has been injured and diminished for a long time, with Gyokeres we’re seeing a big money summer signing, supposedly ‘the answer’ to our striker issues, under-perform and underwhelm to a massive extent. It’s a lot to ask of Kai Havertz to come back in and just play every game now, but I’m at the point where, in a game like this, I’d prefer to see Mikel Merino up front than Gyokeres because I think his technical level is so superior.
I’d also like to see more from the manager when we, as Premier League leaders, go to the team in 17th. You know I never take anything for granted with any team, and in my preview yesterday I said this would be tricky because Forest under Sean Dyche will always give you a difficult game. But I can’t believe we’re in mid-January and we’ve barely seen Eberechi Eze and Martin Odegaard on the pitch at the same time. There were a few minutes earlier in the season when Arteta tried it in a home game, but the captain picked up that shoulder problem and had to go off. I just think in games like this, we could lean into that technical quality more, and as good as Declan Rice and Zubimendi are, there are other ways to construct a midfield.
There were a couple of second half moments, a Saka header that was well saved but I don’t think it’s one that should ever beat a Premier League keeper, and a Merino header that flicked just wide. Again though, if it was on target, I think Matz Sels had it covered. Beyond that, we huffed and we puffed and we couldn’t find a breakthrough. Arteta spoke of Declan Rice missing a tap-in, an incident I don’t remember at all, and there was a lengthy VAR check for a penalty which the manager was insistent should have been given but that felt a bit desperate to me. If that had been given against us I would have gone mad, but the focus on that is ultimately a distraction from the fact that, as a team, we fell short in a game I think we are capable of winning.
Asked afterwards about the missed opportunity to create some daylight between us and City, Arteta said afterwards:
Every week is an opportunity. We want to win every game and if we would have done that, we would have been in a different position. But we made a step, a smaller one than the one we wanted, but it’s a step.
And that’s true. We’re better off at the end of this weekend than where we began it in relation to Man City. Obviously, there’s a chance for Aston Villa to go second if they win today, but most people view Pep Guardiola’s team as the measuring stick for our title chances. Perhaps that’s doing Villa a disservice, but recent history has taught us how dangerous City are in a title race so the focus is on them.
So we come back to this sense that despite gaining a point, we’ve done ourselves some damage in the process. Maybe that doesn’t make sense, but as an Arsenal fan right now, I can’t escape this feeling that everything that doesn’t go as well as it can will undermine us in the end. Of course there’s a world where we look back at this draw against Forest and view it as a solid point earned away from home on our way to the title. Equally though, there’s one where those two points we left behind, whether it was down to that Martinelli miskick at the back post or Gyokeres fluffing his lines etc, are the difference between first and second.
Mikel Arteta continually talks about the ‘margins’, and we know how fine they can be. Yesterday, I think we fell short. It’s not a disaster by any means, and we remain in great shape at the top, but this isn’t the first time this season we’ve had the chance to really be ruthless in our pursuit of the title. The mental scars that come from three consecutive second place finishes are easy to pick at, and I don’t think anything is going to change in that sense until we go the distance. Then we can relax. Not a second before. We often joke about Arsenal never doing it the easy way, our commitment to that bit this season is almost impressive.
It feels like being in a car driven by a lunatic who will give you a million pounds when you get to your destination. He’s swapping lanes, driving on the wrong side of the road, swerving into traffic, speeding around mountain passes with a sheer drop on one side, while swigging from a bottle of vodka and occasionally taking his hands off the steering wheel all the way. If you get there in the end that money will be wonderful, but goddammit it’s terrifying while you’re white-knuckling the ride in the passenger seat with no control.
I think I better leave it there for now. Have a great Sunday folks, back here tomorrow with more and an Arsecast Extra. Until then.
