Captain fantastic was back on Sunday(yesterday) and looked in the mood.[ Actually he began his comeback with a very late substitute appearance versus Inter Milan in midweek]
In the end, Arsenal couldn't shake-off the spirited Chelsea challenge and it ended in a lone goal draw. It seems these days Arsenal just play well, but not enough goals. Against Inter Milan, it was Inter begging for the match to be done with as Arsenal were all over them, yet it was a lone goal defeat for the Gunners.
Maresca's boys put up a good fight, but a more clinical Arsenal side could have won the game. The prolific Cole Palmer was shut-down on Sunday as a player like Thomas Partey and the entire midfield showed their superiority. It took a brilliant long range strike by Neto, who had just changed his position, for Chelsea to earn a draw after Arsenal led through a Gabriel Martinelli close strike. It was a sad goal to see for Arsenal supporters.
After the match, Mikel Arteta said:
"Win, win and win because these guys[top teams like Liverpool], they don’t stop winning, so that’s what we have to do. When it gets nasty, show your teeth and show how much you want it,"
Great mentality sir, that's the winning mentality a team must possess to win things.
I only wonder if you are looking only outside without looking inwards.
You said, "show how much you want it". I think you can also tell that to yourself. It was refreshing having the captain back. We saw his pressing, his vision in passing, his passion.
But Arteta do you really want it? Truth is Odegaard wasn't yet at his very best, esp when in possession[like in the video just above], so what's Ethan Nwaneri doing on the bench at the very latter stages of that match?
You really want it? Bare your own teeth and bring in the boy in the 80th minute or so and go for it!
We saw Inter Milan, at a time Arsenal where all over them, they substituted off their captain and two others at thesame time. They hardly ever do this to their captain, the Argentine Lautaro Martinez(7th on the Ballon d'Or shortlist), especially when it is a big match and when he isn't at fault like that Arsenal match. And no, they didn't bring in a defender for him, they brought another striker– the coach wanted another striker with a diffeent profile just to change things up. It didn't really work out because Arsenal increased the pressure, but hey they survived, so they can argue that the substitution worked somehow.
The lesson from that is sometimes you make changes to give the opposition something else to worry about, especially as it was clear that Odegaard wasn't at his best as that second half wore on. You really want it, please show it oh dear gaffer.
Arteta please be so guided.
Thanks for reading
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