Arsenal are in America for the first time since 2019. Their first opponent: Everton. It was yet again a tale of two halves, but this time it was the first half that was the livelier of the two. Even though we only had two goals that half (doesn’t that feel great to say), we pretty much had complete control of the game and looked like we could have scored more.
During the second half, we definitely didn’t have that same level of control. Unlike the Nurnberg game, the energy was still there, but we were just sloppy in possession. We experimented with different formations and it was obviously unsuccessful. However, we eventually got things under control, and in the end, we kept a clean sheet, so we can’t complain too much.
With that in mind, here are some of my main takeaways from this game.
We trust our striker now.
What more can you say about Gabi Jesus that hasn’t already been said? With a little over 90 minutes of preseason games under his belt, we already can see the kinds of things that he can do with the ball. He was involved in both goals this game. That touch that he had from the corner kick was immaculate and it set him up for an easy finish. Despite the fact that the defending left something to be desired, that still wasn’t an easy thing to do.
All that said, the thing that stood out to me in this game is how his presence has affected the other players and the way we are now able to play. We saw a lot more direct, vertical passes. We even saw quite a few from Gabriel, arguably our least-progressive passer in central defense. I have to imagine this is because we now trust that our striker is able to not only drop deep to receive those passes, but also that when he receives them, he can make things happen either by linking up with other forward players or turning and running at the opposing defense.
We have all but confirmed Arteta’s preferred formation.
Lately, it seems like we’ve been linked with every available left 8 under the sun, with Zinchenko likely to be the one we end up signing in the end. That, combined with the fact that we started the game with Xhaka playing in that left 8 position again even when it’s not his preferred position, all but confirms the fact that Arteta will want to play a 4-3-3 with one deep-lying midfielder (Partey/Elneny) and two attacking midfielders (Odegaard and possibly Vieira on the right, and TBD on the left).
Some thoughts on individual players…
In the first half, I wanted to observe those players where we may not know exactly what they have to offer. Mainly, I focused on Matt Turner, William Saliba, and Nuno Tavares. In the second half, I wanted to see what Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Pepe had to offer in case we aren’t able to move them on this summer.
With 5 keepers being brought on the US tour, I’m a bit surprised that they gave Turner a full 90 minutes. I had assumed they would swap in Okonkwo to get him some minutes under his belt, or even put one of the wantaways in the shop window for a half. Either way, Turner had a much better game this time around. He had some great saves and showed what he can offer in terms of shot-stopping. He had some shaky moments in possession, but at least you can see that he’s trying to get used to playing more with the ball at his feet. Not great at the moment, but not terrible either.
Saliba had a very solid game in defense and already seems to be developing a good partnership with Gabriel. He was strong and had good recovery speed, able to easily handle the likes of Dominic Calvert-Lewin. He was also tidy on the ball; I don’t remember ever worrying about his passing. So far, a great start. Hoping to see more in the next couple of games in Orlando.
Nuno looked a bit more comfortable this game. He brought that same chaotic energy, but made a lot fewer mistakes than he tended to last season. He went forward well and didn’t have any blunders on defense that really stuck out to me. We’ll see if he can keep that up in Orlando.
My thoughts on AMN and Pepe are essentially the same. Neither one really showed anything that would convince me that we need to keep them around. If any sort of reasonable offer comes in for either of them, I would take it. They weren’t disastrous in this game by any means. They were just uninspiring. And we have to move on from having “just okay” players in our squad. Especially if we’re going to be rotating more frequently.
The injuries… oh, the injuries.
Small injuries during preseason shouldn’t be immediately concerning. What is concerning is that when Arteta listed the 5 players that are having issues, at least 4 of them made me think “Yup, of course”.
I’m not a betting man, but the odds have to be in favor of Tierney playing fewer than 20 games this season just based on previous data. Then there are Tomiyasu and Smith-Rowe, both of whom missed a portion of last season with injuries. As for Fabio Vieira, when he was pictured in a boot earlier this summer, he went onto social media to reassure the fanbase that it was nothing to worry about. If that were the case, I would think we would be seeing him on the field already.
I’ll hold out hope that most, if not all, of these injuries get resolved before the start of the season, but I won’t say I’m confident of a completely healthy squad for the first game of the season.
