match report – player ratings – by the numbers
On the seventh day, the Lord said: Lest Tottenham continue their travels, all men and women will know that they will be beaten, regardless of their destination. And behold, they were mistreated.
Psalms 3:1
I should note that this post-game blog is being written quite early on a Sunday morning and I haven’t had a chance to see much in the way of highlights and replays yet. So please forgive any mistakes or forgetfulness of both things and things.
Mikel Arteta brought back Oleksandr Zinchenko and Martin Odegaard, and the availability of Thomas Partey was a boost. I think we played pretty well in the first half, especially as we were the only team trying to play. We know the way the Sp*rs operate, but their approach yesterday was very harsh: put 11 men behind the ball and deny Arsenal space.
Which they did to reasonably good effect… until Partey’s superb opener. We’ve seen him take that shot more than once, and most of the time it doesn’t bother the keeper, but he ducked into the top corner to break the deadlock. A fantastic hit and an already inflated stadium went haywire (except for the guy sitting behind me who sat staring straight ahead).
I felt like our lead lasted a little over 10 minutes, but that was it. Some sloppiness at the back resulted in Gabriel fouling Richarlison, the referee signaled the spot and the inevitability of Harry Kane scoring a penalty was so obvious that I didn’t even entertain the idea that he might miss. 1-1, and we had a bit of a wobbly period after that, but we finished the half pretty well. Gabriel Jesus’ feet saw him put Lloris to the test, but I suspect Mikel Arteta was happy the team went into halftime to set things right.
An early goal in the second half was just the tonic, this time Lloris was not up to the task. Having saved the first effort, he let the ball slide under him and Jesus was there to score. From where I was sitting I was a little worried that there might be a foul on the keeper but the goal stuck and everyone went crazy (except the guy sitting behind me who sat looking straight ahead but frowning a little more). pucker). front).
Any wobble we had in the first half, we got out of our system and were by far the better team in the second. I’ve seen a replay of the dismissal, and while I don’t think there would be too many complaints if the referee had given a yellow, I can also see why it was red. I probably need to watch it again to be sure but what matters is they were down to 10 men and Richarlison was furious and Granit Xhaka smiling told them to calm down, it was kind of lovely.
Update: Just watched a few more replays, definitely red.
The third goal came from a good play with Partey and Xhaka involved in midfield, Martinelli gave it to Xhaka in the box and was able to get inside the defenders and finish with a low shot to make it 3-1. The celebrations were bananas, lots of hugs and high fives (except for the guy sitting behind me who just sat staring straight ahead, now struggling to keep a pained expression off his face).
At one point it looked like Conte was going to make all 5 changes at once, but in the end he settled on 4. We brought in Tierney and Sambi, and we really could and probably should have scored more against ragged opposition. The game could have been in stoppage time when we blew a chance, and Mikel Arteta went completely crazy on the bench, which says a lot about what he wants and what he expects. He wanted us to keep hitting them, and no one in that stadium yesterday would have said ‘Enough, they’re already dead.’
Later, the manager said:
I am very happy, it was a great performance, a great day with an amazing atmosphere to play. I am very grateful to all the people who connect with the team in such a special way. I am very happy because it is an opportunity to make a lot of people happy and proud and I think we have given that to everyone.
First things first, that was a game we deserved to win. Even with their relentlessly negative tactics, you still have to deal with it and it was interesting to see Martin Odegaard talk about how the Partey opportunity was something they had worked on, correctly assuming that they would just try to get as many men as possible. behind the ball as possible.
Individuals are often hard to single out, but Partey was excellent in midfield, exerting almost effortless dominance and it looks like the goal has been in the post since he got here. I also have to mention William Saliba, who was once again exceptional. Not only did he deal with Harry Kane, his security on the ball – in both areas – was incredible, and his reading of the game was excellent. When a team tries to hit you on the fast break or catch you with long balls, that’s an important quality.
And look, I could get lyrical about a few more. Jesus, Martinelli’s excellent race, Xhaka continues his excellent form, but we would be here all day. Individuals aside, it was a stellar collective effort and as a result we are top of the Premier League.
Finally, I know a lot of people have made this point, but this was my first home game of the season and everything people are saying about the atmosphere is spot on. From all sides there is noise and support, the fans again reacted to an opposition goal in a way of trying to get behind the team, and you can feel the buzz and anticipation very clearly. It’s palpable at the entrance, in the concourses, in the stands, and certainly after a 3-1 victory in a North London derby.
It leaves you wanting more, and the fact that so many were left behind after the final whistle tells you a lot about that.
Right, that’s your batch for this morning. It’s fair to say I might have a slight boil this morning, so a little coffee would be nice.
I’m back in Dublin this afternoon, and James and I will be shooting the Arsecast Extra early in the evening. Keep an eye out for the call for questions on Twitter @gunnerblog and @arseblog on Twitter with the hashtag #arsecastextra, or if you’re an Arseblog member on Patreon, leave your question on the #arsecast-extra-questions channel on our Discord. server.
We’ll have the pod for you later. For now, have a good Sunday. Unless you’re the guy who was sitting behind me. Ha ha.
