OPEN PLAY GOAL MONSTERS?
The people wanted open-play goals, and open play goals they got. Are we Jover out? I think so. He has to go. A new era of delicious free-scoring is here!
Arsenal took their sweet time, but they eventually walloped Monaco 3-0 in a game that wasn’t always the prettiest.
Mikel Arteta rang in the changes with a hodgepodge of a starting XI that looked like me ordering from a Greek-Indian restaurant after hours. Our 84th defensive line-up of the season saw Thomas on the right, Saliba, Kiwior, and MLS on the left. Midfield had Declan, Merino, and Kiwior. Our forward line resurrected Jesus, Saka, and Martinelli.
You watched it. It worked. In fact, it was pretty delightful. My eyes were being gently massaged by the sight of a left-hand-side build-up that felt balanced, potent, and chanceful. Yeah, chanceful can be a word today. MLS really excelled with his mobility and confidence. Merino did a really good job, though it did feel clunky at times. Martinelli and sometimes Jesus looked free.
After Matt Kandela said fullbacks were NOT the issue with our attack against Fulham, MLS tussled in midfield, broke free of his man, swept a pass into Jesus like an English curler at speed, and the Brazilian brushed a ball to the back post where Saka was there to tap home for his first.
We controlled the rest of the half. Jesus had two really good chances. One came from a launched pass from Kiwior that was simply world-class, but his one-vs-one was dreadful. We saw a similar chance fall to Odegaard, who beat their high line, but his finish was well below par. You sensed that Arsenal players had been told to stop trying to find perfection in their search for goals and get a little loose. That led to snatched shots… but there were actually shots, which was progress.
We were so bad in front of goal, you got those early 2000s tingles that we might get taught a lesson by Monaco. They started the second half with more meaning. They stopped retreating, their press seemed to dramatically improve, and we found ourselves defending some spaces we’re not normally defending. Kiwior worried me because he looked fearful of the power and pace of Embolo. We also seemed happy to get down and dirty in a transition game at times, and it was scary.