An adage to be followed by any side meeting Arsenal. Just show up. As bystanders to a drive by. Or onlookers bottle necking a traffic accident. There are excellent chances you will go back as victors as the Gunners inevitably create ways to immolate themselves to everyone’s bemusement. You can have Jack Wilshere clear onto goal in the first few minutes with all the time in the world to choose which side to pick past David De Gea but then bewilderingly shoot straight to the Utd goalie. Over the match and especially over this season, one is left with a feeling Arsenal live in a hermetically sealed bubble where they play each other and like Groundhog Day dial back the clock to get to perfection. Except in the real world, you play real opponents and rarely get to do do overs. Amassing a bag of amazing sleight of foot flicks and tricks and endless possession has its statute of limitations. Goals count.
At the end the denouement was a familiar one. For all their possession and panache in front of the box, Arsenal could not finish. A Utd side destroyed by injuries forced to field a back line resembling drywall. Without Daley Blind, Rafael, and Phil Jones, Van Gaal had to press into service naifs Tyler Blackett and Paddy McNair at the heart of defense and bring in Michael Carrick, returning from a long injury layoff. Worse, he lost Luke Shaw to injury early in the first half, whose motoring instincts could have played havoc with the ill disciplined and reactive Arsenal defense.
In his place, Ashley Young, brought a different danger; his diving instincts. Somehow Utd held it together in the first half with De Gea bringing off some point blank saves. At this point, it must have dawned on Arsenal fans that Van Gaal could have sent out a casting call to Quasimodo and Igor, the result would be exactly the same. The biggest question was whether Wilshere, his self awareness meter completely broken would get Marouane Fellaini, a foot taller to go all Suarez and bite his head off but in the end, the head butt looked to be little more than a speculative lick to the pate and an internet meme.
Just when it was stalemate, Arsenal decided such an undesirable status quo required a comedy of errors to liven up proceedings. On cue, Wojciech Szczesny flapped at an Young cross, collided with Kieran Gibbs, both falling. The ball landed at the feet of Antonio Valencia, whose speculative clobbering should have done little damage, except Gibbs who had stayed down stuck his leg out and deflected the ball into goal. Such cataclysms reinforce the cosmic belief no matter what Arsenal do or bring to the side will matter little since they’re so doomed. Szcz came off worse and had to be replaced by Damian Martinez. With Arsenal now desperately throwing everyone and his uncle into the attack, hung themselves out to dry on the counter. Why was such panic warranted with more than 30 minutes left to play?
Familiar story. Arsenal loses ball (in this case Alexis Sanchez), other club finds ball, ball meets goal. With just Nacho Monreal left in the back to defend, Di Maria and Rooney combined, as Rooney the top goalscorer against Arsenal swished the ball past Martinez providing Utd’s insurance. Di Maria could have had a third but his form of late has suffered and his effort went wide off goal. Wenger brought in Giroud and the Frenchman’s late goal thrashed with his left foot catching a thermal flew into the near post revived some interest in a comeback. Utd held on for their first away win this season. Arsenal on the other hand have just one win in fifteen against United. Depressing, indeed.
This was not a very good Utd side as many have pointed out. Wayne Rooney’s shot on goal was the first such attempt and it came late in the second half. Utd was there for the taking. A more ruthless side would have sharpened their tools to make that happen. But it seems to make no difference to Arsenal. Frankly, this is a side apart from Sanchez that sorely lacks what Daniel Goleman termed emotional intelligence of which self awareness and self regulation are major leadership traits. What is a red flag to most others becomes a signal to throw caution to the wind. What are self evident destructive habits to others are to Arsenal their mindset towards attaining a form of ideological purity. This is admirable. But it is also very damaging. In this, you find Wenger’s imprimatur. Tactical flexibility is anathema because he wants to beat you with his first thought. In his post match comments:
” I don’t know why we had nobody at the back at all – you could see straight away that giving a two against one in your own half means you will be punished against these players.”
The manager’s job is to make players aware of that particular danger. In Wenger’s case there appears to be a mental block or a studied avoidance or a messianic belief in his players which renders sideline communication unnecessary or demeaning. Its as if whatever coaching is given ends just before kickoff. A similar situation unfolded against Swansea where an isolated Calum Chambers was getting overrun time and time against Jefferson Montero. The threat was there as plain as day. A player like Ox who could have assisted Chambers in neutralizing Montero was not given instructions. Without that help, Montero launched a perfect cross finding Bafetimbi Gomis, who took advantage of an undersize Monreal to score the winner.
Such inflexibility can be good at the business end. Arsenal emerged relatively unscathed from crippling debt paying off for the Emirates largely because Wenger’s mantra of living within one’s means and marketing Arsenal’s attacking brand. However, years of living in the trenches opens up the question of objectivity. With Arsenal entering a new phase replenished with enough cash reserves to make substantial player investments in all areas it appears Wenger cannot let go of that identity. That self sufficient model has taken a beating with Arsenal now the league’s third highest spender on player wages. Result oriented football is not an abstraction. It is the only way to bring in new revenue as well as players.
Arsenal now lie eighth. 15 points behind first placed Chelsea and eleven points off the pace from last season. They have their worst point total after 12 matches since 1982. The whispers that this time even achieving fourth place might be a stretch are getting louder.
Highlights:
Arsenal 1-2 Manchetser United (Full Highlights… by pewdiepieofficia