Ah yes. Welcome everyone to everything Arsenal. I know. The billions of people reading this aren’t all Arsenal fans but at least once in your lifetime, you played with Arsenal in FIFA or bought an Arsenal player so it applies to you. I’d like to thank my boss Shane for giving me the opportunity to be a part of the FTB blog. Apparently all you need is one fancy word (I used the word precipice, correctly by the way) and got hired. So standards are high.
So now to the fun stuff. Arsenal. Quick recap: Played 5. Won 5. 15 points on the table and living on top of Mount (not Mason, gross) Everest. On Matchweek #6, we met VARchester United. Considering the mess that is VAR in England, specifically during Matchweek #6, (RIP Newcastle and West Ham) I fully expected to be robbed somehow when we played them at Old Trafford. VARchester United have been on a roll. First time they have had 3 consecutive wins since last year, looking well grooved after Maguire and the overrated Ronaldo got dropped to the bench. Arsenal, meanwhile, showed their capabilities by coming from behind again against Fulham and getting the win, the 2nd time this season (double the amount of the entirety of last season). Now most are saying that Arsenal didn’t play anyone of worth so far. Well tell that to Man City who tied against Fulham. Or Liverpool who struggled against Crystal Palace at Anfield. Every game in the PL is tough, except if you're playing against Bournemouth (SEE YOU ON THE OTHER SIDE SCOTTIE P!).
To the actual game then. United were all over Arsenal for the first 10-15mins and looked really good. Arsenal seemed to struggled with the interplay in midfield between Eriksen and Fernandes. Lokonga looked out of place in the #6 position. New boy Antony showed some promise on the right wing, but then to the controversy. Eriksen gets robbed of the ball by Odegaard, who passes to Saka who then sends Martinelli through to score. Referee Paul Tierney was 10 yards away from the ball, doesn’t call it a foul but it goes to VAR. Now listen, I am all about fairness, but that call was ridiculously soft. There was no tripping, no push, just normal contact between two players fighting for the ball. That would not have been given if it was a penalty kick, so I fail to understand why it was a foul. I’m convinced everyone thought Eriksen’s heart would stop again, so VAR decided to look back and determine it was a clear and obvious foul (it was not), and take the goal away from the Gunners. Eriksen’s heart/VAR 1 – 0 Arsenal. Too soon? From then on Arsenal played really well. They created numerous openings but were wasteful in front of goal. But oh no, the painful sucker punch. Gabriel gets pushed up too high to get tight on Fernandes, Zinchenko gets sucked in towards the ball, and Antony was wide open to score. Bad defending by Arsenal, great play by United. That was pretty much it for the first half. Arsenal created more chances but nothing to write home about (or a blog).
Second half Arsenal were all over United. Constant pressure until finally they cracked and Saka scored from a rebound, after a beautiful ball from Odegaard to Jesus that was deflected by Varane. Again, we were on top and got sucker punched again. I hate punches. Lokonga misplaced a pass and United broke forward beautifully while Arsenal were out of sorts. Again, that connection between Eriksen and Fernandes was impeccable. The through pass by Fernandes was gorgeous, and with Rashford’s speed and hunger (fed all those kids and forgot about himself) did the rest. Arsenal tried, but again United's ruthless counter attack got them again. Arsenal were naïve and pushed up leaving space in the middle for Eriksen and Fernandes to cause havoc. Is Rashford back? Only if kids get fed. 3-1 final score but we remain on the top of the table. Now can Arsenal react and not go on a winless run like they failed to do so last year? It starts on Thursday for the highly coveted Europa League. They play at Zurich, then play Everton at home on Sunday.
Final thoughts: Arsenal was the better team, but VARchester was more clinical. United seems to have a system and a way of playing now. Arsenal and Arteta were naïve, especially with his triple substitution when there were still 20mins left to play. The switch from back four to back three did not work, and made the players disoriented allowing United to capitalize. Encouraging performance at Old Trafford for Arsenal though, where they have won once in the league since 2006. Now the real test is: can they react? This Gooner certainly hopes so.
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