Morning.
I remain very pleased with our win over Newcastle on Sunday, and the way last weekend transpired. It’s not beyond the realms of possibility we could have found ourselves eight points behind Liverpool, instead it’s just two.
I know there was a lot of angst, particularly after the Man City game, but can we take a moment just to reflect on these opening weeks of the Premier League season. We’ve gone to Old Trafford, Anfield and St James’ Park, as well as playing City at home. We’ve had injuries to key players, like Martin Odegaard, Bukayo Saka, William Saliba, Kai Havertz, and Ben White, and lost one of the big summer signings (Noni Madueke) in the last game for what could be months.
That is a really challenging fixture list, and a challenging injury list too. I’m going to say that in previous years we wouldn’t have coped as well, and also that perhaps last season played a part in our ability to deal with things this time around. Finishing second again wasn’t going to win the hearts and minds of fans, but I think most people who look back on the 2024-25 season objectively or in good faith would say that there were circumstances – some in our control, and some not so much – that made going better than that really tough.
I recall Mikel Arteta talking about how no team who had faced similar difficulties ever finished as high as we did. Again, small comfort to fans who are desperate to see this club win the Premier League after so many years, but I do wonder if that experience has had an impact on this season’s early weeks. We battled for a 1-0 at Old Trafford; Arsenal and Liverpool basically cancelled each other out at Anfield, but the game went their way from a brilliant free kick; we dominated Man City (who we beat 5-1 last season) and found late reserves to grab a point; and on Sunday we dug deep to score two goals to win us the game.
It’s not the prettiest football you’ll ever see, but I think much of this was steeped in pragmatism, which is what Arteta had to default to for much of last season and it was, for the most part, pretty effective. We did finish second, not second bottom. On Sunday though, there was a bit of a change with the use of Eberechi Eze in midfield, and the performance was far better. The way we played was more effective and far more easy on the eye, but the fine margins of the Premier League were on display as the headers from Mikel Merino and Gabriel were required to break the deadlock.
Four of our six games this season have been against so-called ‘big teams’, and in the other two we’ve scored 8 goals, conceded 0, and taken maximum points. The fixture list now looks a little less complicated, with a lot of games in London, and while we cannot take anything for granted, I suspect that the manager will have looked at this first six as a little mini-league of its own – with two cup games in the mix as well (both of which we won 2-0).
I don’t know if he had a points total in his mind, or if it was about where we were in relation to our title rivals. Perhaps he’s a little down on both counts from, what I imagine knowing Arteta, would have been lofty aspirations, but I think we’re in solid shape. As I said yesterday, the Newcastle win wasn’t just important for the points, but to remind people of what this team can do. You can argue that part of the frustration is that we already know that the team is good and has been bolstered by a £250m summer spree, and perhaps that’s fair enough.
I just think too often analysis of Arsenal lacks sufficient context. Arsenal spend £250m so we should be brilliant and play everyone off the park is a great soundbite, but there are so many other factors in how football games play out. We have to control what we can control as much and as well as possible, and I think it’s obvious there’s room for improvement, but let’s not ignore things like a stonewall penalty being overturned because VAR wants to strip every moment of joy from the game of football, or an opposition player/team producing a moment of quality. I mean, the list is endless.
And it has always been like this, by the way. But I think the pressure of expectation, coupled with the bubbling frustration, of finishing second three years in a row, informs not just how fans think, but how we’re analysed and spoken about externally. The Internet was a different place back in the summer of 2001, but back then we went into the new campaign after three consecutive second place finishes – each one of them behind Man Utd.
The way people communicated back then was different. There was no social media. There were websites and forums, but nothing like the relentless coverage of the minutiae of the game like there is now. The restlessness I recall was based around the idea of players leaving because we hadn’t won anything for three years. There was probably loads around Patrick Vieira and Real Madrid (like every summer!). Still, I could be wrong, but I don’t think it was as febrile back then as it is now, but that might also apply to … well … pretty much everything these days, not just football.
Which is to say, concerns about this Arsenal team and the way we play sometimes are perfectly valid, but our start to the season – at least in terms of points and where are in relation to other title contenders – is not bad at all. So, hopefully we can let the reins go a little in the weeks ahead, and become a bit more convincing. Or, to put it another way, to win them in the same way we won against Leeds and Forest already.
Right, I’ll leave it there, but for some extra reading Lewis has a new tactics column, which looks at how Arsenal’s play differed at Newcastle, and how it produced a much more dominant performance than some of our previous ones up there. The Arsecast Extra is below if you haven’t had a chance to listen yet.
Have a good one.
