match report – player ratings – Video
When Mikel Arteta’s starting eleven last night included Gabriel Jesus, Eddie Nketiah and Bukayo Saka, it would have been very likely that Granit Xhaka would have been the man to score the decisive goal, but that is exactly what happened to secure a 1-0 victory. and a comfortable place at the top of our Europa League group.
It’s not like the others don’t have a chance. Eddie had 6 shots, while Jesus and Saka each had 5, but it was the Swiss midfielder, who took 4 shots, who sealed the deal. The goal started back when Matt Turner made a clever save to avoid a PSV corner, and from there we worked the ball up, eventually feeding Takehiro Tomiyasu down the right, and his ball in the box fell to Xhaka.
Sometimes you say ‘he fell nicely’, but this was not that. I was a little behind him and on the wrong foot, but Granit spun, shot and celebrated as the ball hit the back of the net all in one motion. It was his third goal of the season so far, and on a night where things didn’t really add up from an attacking perspective, it was an extremely valuable contribution that guaranteed knockout football and went a long way towards making sure we finished first. . Group A.
It also seems a little strange to say that Arsenal’s attack didn’t click in a game where we had 25 shots against the opposition’s 4, but it just wasn’t exactly where you would have expected. The keeper made a save or two, but was generally not as busy as the shot count suggests, and it was almost a night for our three forwards. An extra touch here, the ball didn’t quite sit for the shot there, it was just a bit off target. Which is not to say that we weren’t the best team, obviously we were, but we couldn’t convert dominance into goals.
I don’t know how much you can read into the fact that the goal came when we brought in Martin Odegaard and Thomas Partey for Fabio Vieira and Albert Sambi Lokonga, who had a hard time getting into the game, but he told you. Much about the intention of the manager. He wanted last night’s win to ensure the final two group games weren’t high-pressure affairs, and Xhaka’s goal, in which Odegaard was involved in the final third, gave it to him.
As for PSV, who went goal-crazy in their last few games, I expected a lot more from them, especially on a night when we weren’t at our best. I know there is a quality gap between the Premier League and the Eredivisie, but they offered very little. A few moments here and there, mostly from the exciting Xavi Simons and not the much-hyped Cody Gakpo, but not much else. You could say that Arsenal deserve some credit for that because of how we control the game, and that’s fair enough. I discovered that PSV is much more conservative than I expected. Maybe that’s the way teams approach a game against the Premier League leaders – it’s been so long since we’ve been there that I might need to readjust my thinking.
The lead never really felt precarious, we had enough control. Saka could have made it 2-0 after Xhaka scored, but the keeper saved, and most of the latter part of the game, at least for me, was spent worrying about him after he got kicked in the calf. Ultimately, he was replaced by Reiss Nelson with only a few minutes left.
Later, Arteta said about the victory:
In general, I’m very satisfied with the performance with what the guys have shown, and we had some really dominant and good moments in the game, but we lacked a little bit in the last third, final actions, especially inside the box. I think to put more shots on goal and score more goals.
He was also asked about Saka and his playing time, informed by concern about the shot he took, saying:
Watch the best players in the world, they play 70 games, every three days and make a difference and win the game. If you want to be at the top you have to be able to do it and if we start to put something different in the minds of our young players, I think we are making a big mistake, because it is a yes, a no. Now I don’t play now on astroturf and I don’t play. I don’t want that. I want them to be ruthless, every three days, they will knock on my door. I want to play and I want to win the game. There is not a physical trainer in the world who is going to tell me that he cannot do it, because I have seen him 72 games and have scored 50 goals, players who score 50 goals cannot play 38 games in a season, it is impossible.
I think that’s a very interesting answer, and I’ll dive into it a bit more in depth on the podcast later this morning. Saka is third in minutes played so far this season, behind Big Gabriel and Granit Xhaka and just ahead of Gabriel Martinelli. I can see exactly where Arteta is coming from, but at the same time, it’s important to manage the minutes of young players in particular.
I think part of it is because we’ve been burned out so many times by injuries, and we all know how important Saka is to this team, especially since we really have no other option to ease his load. I’m knocking on wood here, but Saka plays a lot because he’s available all the time, and maybe that’s something we should see as a positive, rather than wait for the hammer to drop. Anyway, like I said, we’ll get into this more in the pod.
So the win puts Arsenal on 12 points to PSV’s 7 before the second leg next week. A point in the Netherlands will clinch the group and ensure we don’t have an extra round of matches to face in the new year. Now though, we’re putting this behind us and turning our attention to the weekend and a trip to Southampton.
The pod should be ready for you around noon. Until then.
