TEXTBOOK
Well, well, well. What a turn of events we've had in the last couple of matchdays.
There was a brief moment when we could have been eight points behind Liverpool, but three injury-time goals later, and we find ourselves one point ahead heading into the latest interlull. How quickly things change in the footballing universe.
The injuries to Odegaard and Rice notwithstanding, Arteta's 300th game as manager was about as textbook, drama-free as he could have hoped for to mark the occasion.
Nuno's West Ham came like Forest in disguise with his usual anti-football setup, hoping for a point, and left with what they deserved: ie, absolutely nothing. 32% possession and zero shots on target were the height of their ambition. Utterly awful. Unlike Olympicacos in midweek, the Hammers weren't remotely interested in making a fist of it.
Even with such an easy win, there is, as always, plenty to chat about.
We'll start with the lineup.
The Gaffer decided to roll the dice and have both Odegaard and Eze in the lineup, both in central roles. The Captain in his familiar 10 on the right and Eze in the 8 on the left, although it really was two numbers 10's playing either side of the pitch. Zubimendi was the one to miss out, getting a well-deserved rest with Rice dropping back to the 6.
This formation lasted all of 30 minutes as Odegaard, for a record third home league game in a row, didn't stay on long enough to sample the halftime oranges (although these days it's all Prime and Gatorade). A clash of knees saw him depart the scene after trying to play on. We were critical of him with the shoulder cry-offs, but tbf to him on this occasion, knee-on-knee clashes can be painful.
In all honesty, we weren't sure if the formation was even working that well up to that point. Looked like a defo work in progress. His replacement, Zubimendi, was a sign of just how deep our squad depth goes. No longer are we bringing guys on, and the team is significantly weakened. If anything, we got better once the Spaniards' tempo setting and passing got to work.
Rice was the other one who was injured, this time late on with what looked like a back problem. If memory serves us right, the last time Declan asked to come off at The Carpet, it was also a back problem? Against who escapes the memory banks.
Hopefully, both players are unable to fulfil their international duties but are fit enough for Fulham at Craven Cottage when proper football returns in just under two weeks.
In other lineup news, our full-backs were both restored (we'll get to them later), and Trossard, maybe somewhat surprisingly, kept his spot on the left wing. If there was/is a position battle for LW, the Belgian seems to have won it.
Performance-wise, we won the game without even getting out of first? second? gear. There were complaints that the atmosphere inside the stadium wasn't great, but this happens when matches are so one-sided. It becomes a case of "Okay, it's only a matter of time before we score," and the crowd waits for the team to give them something rather than the other way around.
Before we get to the man-of-the-match award and honorable mentions, we will discuss the elephant in the room from yesterday, and that is the performance of Viktor Gyokeres.
Arteta was more than happy with his performance, stating his work rate and occupying defenders, thus creating space for others, etc. Online chat from Goonerdom was more along the lines of "Yeah, we get all that, but we bought him to score goals." Havertz can occupy defenders. Havertz works hard for the team. The signing of Viktor was supposed to give us all that Kai the Guy does, but with more goals.
We do think Gyokeres was unlucky not to score yesterday. There were a couple of moments that, on another day, fall his way and he bags a goal. We also think that he's kinda of gone from needing minutes in his legs to looking a little gassed. It's a fine line when you miss pre-season between getting your match fitness/sharpness and overdoing it and blowing a gasket. Viktor yesterday looked like the tank was empty.
He'd started every match this season except Port Vale, and it showed. We also have no complaints about Saka taking the penalty from him. If Saka is the man and is the penalty taker (regardless of whether it's his 200th appearance or not), then he takes them. End of.
So who gets the honorable mentions? Well, our first man up didn't even start the match, but in the hour he played, Zubimendi was everything we hoped he'd be when we signed him.
He's just an elite-level footballer. Two line-breaking passes led to both goals, but his traits, like overall tempo control, intelligence, and reading of the game, are all off the charts. He is a teammate's dream. Always available for a pass, never gives the ball away, and snuffs out danger. The way he has seamlessly transitioned into the side, earning a player of the month nomination, speaks volumes about his character and talent.
As usual, we shout out our right back again, Jurrien Timber. Unlucky not to score, won a penalty, and as always defended well. He is set for a pay rise and absolutely deserves every penny. Remember, this guy came back from an injury that kept him out for a full season. Incredible.
Our man of the match, however, goes to ......
We were desperately scouring the web trying to find anyone who had Calafiori's heat map from yesterday. It felt like he spent more time away from his left back position than at it.
Against a team defending deep, you need a kind of chaos bringer that can do something a bit different, and the positions he picks up in central midfield with his foraging runs forward do just that. He makes us way more unpredictable, which adds another dimension to our attacking play. His all-round performance just shaded it ahead of Timber, and he was also unlucky not to score with an effort off the post. IF and it's a big IF he can stay fit for most of the season, his performances could be a huge factor in determining how our season goes.
Unfortunately for us and maybe the opposite for our scouse friends, we now hit another interlul. The second since the season started. We just have to pray, as we always do, that all our players come through unscathed.
We won't be doing much in the way of blogs over the break. We're going to take the chance to recharge our batteries a bit. We will be active on Twitter/X, so if you haven't already, click our X link at the top of the page, give us a follow.
We do have a new song and movie recommendation to keep you all going in the meantime. The song is from Aussie Hip Hop duo Bliss N Eso's new album "The Moon (The Dark Side) and is a banger. The movie is a Korean bucket list classic that everyone should have already watched at least once in their lifetime. Enjoy.
See you all after the latest, awful interlull with hopefully ZERO injury woes to chat about.