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I have an image in my mind about Arsenal. It comes from February 2003 and a game they played against Manchester City on Maine Road.
Even though I grew up in Leeds, Arsenal were my team as a kid, so I was never going to miss out on seeing them live. This particular Saturday 17 years ago, I had been playing for the City academy in the morning and then headed to the old stadium.
The reason the memory is so vivid is because of the football I saw that day. It was one of the best performances I have ever seen, an exhibition that left me in awe. Arsene Wenger’s men were 4-0 up in 19 minutes and ended up winning 5-1.
My vision of football back then was simple: Manchester United had the best players and the most success; Liverpool were a club with heart and soul, but Arsenal played the best football. Arsenal had style, everyone wanted to be like Arsenal.
However, by this time last year, Arsenal had become a laughingstock. The team was adrift, it was too much for Unai Emery and perhaps made worse by the backlash and hysteria that appeared on Arsenal Fan TV.
Many other club fans rubbed their hands after each poor result, so they could log in and see the yelling and screaming as some Arsenal fans started to turn on their own players. It’s been almost 12 months, remember, since parts of the Emirates Stadium booed their captain Granit Xhaka.
I thought it would be a long way back for Arsenal, but it has proven to be the opposite. Now nobody laughs at Arsenal and, for that, the credit goes to Mikel Arteta. The start he’s had to his coaching career is outstanding, and not just because he’s won two trophies.
Losing Arteta was a huge blow for City. I got to see how he works last year when I was in boot camp doing ambassador work. Arteta was taking this particular session and I was amazed at the way he dictated what he wanted from the players and how they responded.
Each of them was listening intently. I don’t know if it was because the group had experience or because they had a lot of respect for Mikel being close to them, but the parts of the session that I saw were so, so good. People have only said positive things to me about him.
He has taken away everything great from Pep Guardiola and then he has turned things around. He has instilled discipline and made it clear that there will be no problems, just look at the way he has dealt with problems like Mesut Ozil and Matteo Guendouzi.
Ozil is not playing for Arsenal because he will not push the way Arteta wants him to. If it had something to do with the ability, Ozil would be inside. If a player is talented and willing to work, there is always room for him.
What I love about the way Arteta has handled Ozil is that he hasn’t allowed an iota of animosity to seep onto the sports pages.
We don’t know if they are locked in a dispute or if there has been a fight because the manager deals with everything so clinically. It’s a real skill, that. It’s easy for news of cracks to leave the training ground, but Arteta has expertly dealt with this.
Arteta will not tolerate any fuss and it is no coincidence that Guendouzi has been loaned out to Hertha Berlin, without having kicked a ball since a game in Brighton in June.
Guendouzi was involved in a dispute with Neal Maupay and is said to have asked the Brighton players how much they earned. Whatever happens, Arteta did not tolerate him and sent him on his way. It is a firm and determined action that showed who is boss. There is nothing soft about Arteta.
However, I think it is important to point out the fact that this is only the beginning. Arsenal are in a good time, but let’s be honest: they haven’t lifted a side that was abandoned at the bottom of the table and taken them to unprecedented heights.
This is Arsenal and Arteta entered a club that had one of the best forwards in the world in Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, a 72 million pound winger in Nicolas Pepe; signed with Willian and has a brilliant talent in emerging Eddie Nketiah.
When you add that they just signed Thomas Partey, what an incredible deal that could turn out, as the Ghanaian was excellent for Atlético de Madrid, Arteta has a lot of quality to choose from. Arsenal should actually be in the top four.
The Arsenal defense still bothers me (Gabriel is the correct standard?) But it is clear that they are moving in the right direction.
They’re a long way from the peaks Wenger brought in, but the outlook is looking up.
The most important thing is that no one laughs at them anymore.
MICAH’S MAN OF THE WEEK
The international break was good for Kai Havertz, who scored for Germany against Switzerland. Timo Werner also scored in that match and the match could have positive effects for Chelsea.
Havertz looked totally upset in his first matches in England, but after his hat-trick in the Carabao Cup I had the impression that things were starting to change for him.
It’s under scrutiny due to the size of its £ 89 million transfer fee, but I can see Havertz making great strides in the weeks ahead.
WHY TRENT HAS TO PLAY ALL THE GAMES
When Dani Alves was at the top of his game, would Brazil ever have left him out?
I ask after the last England games. Now we have Trent Alexander-Arnold, the best right back in the world, but for some reason he doesn’t play as much as he should. I won’t take anything away from Reece James, who was excellent against Denmark, but I can’t understand what’s going on with Trent.
Alves was so good, he was there all the time for Brazil. Why isn’t that the case for Trent with England? I feel confused after these games because the system that Gareth Southgate wants to go with doesn’t seem to suit anyone.
How is it that Harry Maguire was playing on the left side of a three-man defense when he never plays that role for Manchester United? Why was Joe Gomez, the best soccer center back, in the stands? What had Jack Grealish done wrong not to have more minutes after the Wales game?
It feels like it’s a rule for some players on the team and a rule for others. Take Jordan Pickford for example: his form has been poor but he plays all the time. Marcus Rashford is not in his prime, but he’s starting no matter what.
Imagine how Danny Ings felt when he didn’t get a fair chance to get started. I don’t envy Gareth Southgate in what is a difficult time to be an international coach.
I have the utmost respect for him but, as I see things, the balance of the team is not there at the moment. Will there be that balance if you don’t pick your best players?
Source: m.allfootballapp.com
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