UGLY WINS EARN A GLOW-UP
Arsenal beating Fulham felt like legs day at the gym. It was grueling for most of the game but deeply satisfying once the job was done. Eight extra points have been taken from teams we didn’t do so well against last season. Contextualizing this against the hardest start of any team makes the result even better. It finally feels like we’re making serious inroads on our weaknesses… beating teams we should beat.
It’s even more glorious when you consider the injuries we’re dealing with. Our captain wasn’t available again, our first-choice striker is nowhere to be seen, and we don’t have Madueke, White, or Hincapié. These are big names that might have impacted our ability to win in seasons past… but not at the moment.
Arsenal are top of the league, second for goals, and first for BEST DEFENCE EVER. We’re so watertight at the moment, we’re tracking to match the record of 15 conceded by that very good Chelsea team. Fulham recorded ZERO shots on target, which really is remarkable for a very good team.
Arsenal controlled Fulham. They patiently tried to work through a very resolute mid-block that pivoted into six across the back if we broke the lines. People were telling me that we won the game in ugly fashion, which, sure, I can go along with… but winning ugly is now 16 attempts at goal, five on target, with three big chances? That’s just winning to me. Nothing ugly about it. A dominant performance, rewarded by a Trossard tap-in from a set-piece nod-on reminiscent of the Steve Bould routine from way back when.
Arsenal look extremely balanced at the moment and the belief they’ve built in the first eight games is really starting to reap rewards.
There are still some challenges. Gyökeres took his drought to eight games. Arteta had this to say:
“He was very close today again, two or three times. We were all begging for him to score. The work rate he puts in for the team is phenomenal, so we try to give him support and love and it will come.”
I can definitely get behind the idea that he was close. He hit the target twice after making good runs that evaded defenders. I’m sure he’s going to get into the groove soon, but it is really challenging watching him because I’m just not feeling good about his overall game. His touch is poor, he makes bad decisions when trying to link play, and I think he mostly gets eaten up by centre-backs. People laud his ability to occupy centre-backs, but I don’t feel he’s dominating them for strength at all.
I don’t think it’s controversial to say that right now, if Kai Havertz was fit, Gyökeres would not be starting. We’re not getting goals from our nine right now and the all-round play is nowhere near that of Kai Havertz or Mikel Merino. There are certainly some areas we could improve on. The service hasn’t been great, but… are we sure the service hasn’t been great? Or do we think the players aren’t overly keen to service Gyökeres in tight spaces because he hasn’t really shown he can be trusted?
If you think I’m going to leave the harsh words just with our nine, you’d be wrong. Eze was not very impressive. There were a lot of sloppy moments, blind alley running, and very little spark. Not his finest hour in an Arsenal shirt and it certainly had me pining for Ødegaard’s ability in the pockets and between the lines.
Saka though… my word. He looked excellent. The fitness is getting closer to where it needs to be, but the thing I’m really enjoying is the mental sharpness. His decisions are so good, wherever he is on the pitch. He’s such a complete player. But the biggest improvement? He looks like he’s enjoying himself. But… if you like stats, here are some:
Most chances created with 6.
Most take ons 6 successful of 8.
Most ball recoveries with 9.
Won 14 duels.
What. A. Player.
He was very unlucky not to win a penalty. He was clattered, the ref called the right decision, but once again, a VAR room with Stuart Attwell contained within intervened and sent the ref to the VAR telly. After an excruciatingly long amount of time sat there, the ref judged that the ball was landed first, even though we could all see that the thigh of Kevin rippled before his foot touched the ball. Another bad decision, another example of Arsenal being reffed differently, another call that didn’t make a difference because we’re so good at football.
There was also another bad moment for refs. Calafiori scored an absolute top-corner worldie. He was offside. But really, are we going to cancel out goals that good just because the rules say so? Where is the vision here? Are we artists or robots?
The Italian had another fine game. He was probably our most devastating attacking player. He does what he wants. That’s his game. Just a weird freak of nature that trots around the pitch making key moments happen because he’s good wherever he decides to be. He is a chaos merchant and a huge bag of meat to boot… it must be so hard to keep him under control. Fulham really struggled with him.
So, to conclude. A great win. A beautiful way to warm up with the architects of misery, Atlético Madrid. This is going to be a grand season. Everyone is chasing us and we have all the ingredients to have a very positive season. Let’s see if we can keep it going.