Match report – Participant scores – Arteta’s response – Highlights
Two targets in a dominant first half had been sufficient for Arsenal to make it 5 wins in a row within the Premier League towards a Burnley aspect who, whereas dogged, couldn’t actually dwell with us in that opening 45 minutes.
The crew was just about as anticipated, though William Saliba, a pre-game doubt, was match sufficient to start out. Immediately you can see the sample, Burnley sat off, refused to press the centre-halves once we had been in possession, however reacted actually rapidly every time we shifted the ball vast to shut down the area on the market.
With out the dwell weblog (which serves as my manner of recapping the sport afterwards), I used to be making notes on a chunk of paper with a pen. Old skool. Across the 11′ mark, I wrote ‘Gonna be robust!’, after which a few minutes later we bought a nook. Declan Rice’s supply was good, Gabriel knocked it again throughout objective, and Viktor Gyokeres was there to nod house from shut vary.
It appears redundant to say it’s simply what we wanted, however when the opposition are arrange like this, it could get irritating in a short time. It didn’t actually change the Burnley method a lot, given how early it was, but it surely helped us loosen up a bit. And from there we should always have put the sport out of sight within the first half. There have been probabilities for Bukayo Saka, one tame effort he ought to have achieved higher with, and one from which Martin Dubravka made an excellent save. The observe up from Leandro Trossard, who together with Riccardo Calafiori was very full of life down the left hand aspect, was cleared off the road.
The second objective got here from one other set-piece: a Burnley nook lengthy throw. We bought it away, moved it down the precise hand aspect, and the cross-field move from Gyokeres to Trossard was sensational. A type of that will get higher with repeated viewing. The Belgian took it on, stood up a cross, and there was Rice to energy house a header to make it 2-0. A superb counter-attacking objective, and at least we deserved. The primary half stats inform the story very effectively.
There was a change on the break with Gyokeres changed by Mikel Merino after he reported a muscular subject on the break, and with no disrespect to the Spaniard, that was a little bit of a disgrace. I feel that first half was the perfect we’ve seen from the summer time signing in an Arsenal shirt, so it might have been good if he’d been in a position to proceed. Hopefully it’s precautionary greater than anything, and he’s not lacking for too lengthy.
I additionally assume it had an affect on our recreation. We missed his direct working and his maintain up/hyperlink play yesterday was prime class. Merino struggled to make the identical affect, and I feel that allied with the game-state itself, made the second half pretty uneventful. Burnley had a bit extra of the ball and a few of the territory as the sport wound down, searching for a objective that at all times appeared fairly unlikely due to Arsenal’s defensive power.
It wasn’t simply the again 4 both, as a result of I assumed the second half efficiency from Declan Rice was excellent. The objective, devoted to his aunt who handed away just lately, was his most placing contribution, however every time there was even a touch of Burnley inflicting an issue in our half, he appeared be there to make a sort out, nick the ball, and snuff out the hazard. It was a whole midfield efficiency from a person whose consistency might be simply taken without any consideration slightly, so he deserves these props right now.
In the long run, the sport completed with out the opposition having a shot on the right track, though the late free kick which got here off the submit got here near being that. In 4 video games now, Arsenal have allowed only one try on the right track, and that was principally a non-attempt when Eddie Nketiah was adjudged to have had a go, however in actuality David Raya plucked the ball off his head. As I mentioned final week, that’s a statistical anomaly.
Afterwards, Mikel Arteta mentioned:
Very pleased. It’s a extremely robust place to come back. They’ve misplaced as soon as right here in 18 months, towards Liverpool, with the final kick of the sport from a penalty. I feel we began the sport exceptionally effectively. I feel the primary half was among the finest that we’ve performed. Scored two targets, generated one other two or three huge probabilities and conceded nothing. That was a platform as a result of within the second half, we dropped the requirements, particularly with the ball and with our intentions to take extra dangers and play forwards. However once more, defensively, we had been distinctive till the purpose of the free-kick. We had been a bit fortunate that it hit the submit and we stored the clear sheet.
What’s clear is that that is an Arsenal aspect with some actual momentum proper now. 5 wins in a row within the Premier League (hurrah, this implies I can go and get a haircut 🤪), and 9 in a row in all competitions. A bit like Declan Rice, I don’t assume we should always take this without any consideration. I at all times barely remorse that once we had been a fantastic crew earlier than, I didn’t cease to understand how onerous it’s to be this constant, since you really feel like it should at all times be thus. And we all know that’s not the case.
The season is lengthy, with a number of ups and downs, and proper now we’re motoring alongside fantastically. Yesterday felt like a crew in cruise management, able to go up a gear or two if wanted, however fortunately that wasn’t the case. And that’s to not disrespect Burnley, by the way in which, it’s only a measure of who we’re proper now and what we’re able to. I’ll by no means, ever get bored with writing ‘Had nothing a lot to do’ when doing David Raya’s participant ranking on Arseblog Information, however let’s not child ourselves there gained’t be occasions when issues are slightly completely different.
Which is to say, I’m having fun with this quite a bit, and taking the time to understand it, but in addition preserving my toes on the bottom a bit. I’m positive Mikel Arteta’s message to his gamers can be related, however proper now it’s onerous to be something apart from actually impressed with what this crew can do in a massively environment friendly manner in all types of various contexts.
Proper, I’ll go away it there for this morning. Have a fantastic Sunday of us, again tomorrow with extra right here and an Arsecast Further. Till then.
