Posted by Lineup
A week after powering through with four at the back, Arsenal opted to go with five vs. Man City. I’m not sure that eight would have helped. Granit Xhaka shuffled back and forth for 35 minutes, almost on his own, before he two-footed João Cancelo and got sent off. The game was effectively a Man City training environment from there.
Granit Xhaka ➡️ (35′) 🔴
Bukayo Saka ➡️ (45′) ⬅️ Mohamed Elneny
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang ➡️ (59′) ⬅️ Alexandre Lacazette
Martin Ødegaard ➡️ (71′) ⬅️ Ainsley Maitland-Niles
Minute by Minute
| Time | Player | Phase | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1:40 | Aubameyang | Attack | 0-0 |
| Aubameyang (+1) flicks the Tierney header onto Saka (+1), who returns the ball to him down the left channel. Aubameyang's cross headed away by Cancelo | |||
| 1:58 | Chambers | Attack | 0-0 |
| Chambers (+1) plays Saka over the top into the right corner. | |||
| 2:55 | Chambers | Attack | 0-0 |
| Chambers (+1) quickest to the loose ball and fizzes it into Saka (-1), who can't hold off the defender and turns it over. | |||
| 3:55 | Smith Rowe | Defense | 0-0 |
| Smith Rowe (+1) slides in to intercept the entry pass in midfield. | |||
| 4:20 | Smith Rowe | Attack | 0-0 |
| Tierney (+1) and Smith Rowe (+1) beat the City press, but Arsenal fail to do anything worthwhile with it by taking the easy pass twice in a row. The move ends when Chambers (-1)'s pass is intercepted. | |||
| 4:40 | Chambers | Defense | 0-0 |
| Chambers (+1) slides in to win the ball back for Arsenal. | |||
| 4:50 | Odegaard | Attack | 0-0 |
| Odegaard (+1) finds Tierney (+1) on a crossfield pass that sets him up to cross. Saka (-1) nudged at the back post and fluffs his shot, asking for a penalty that's never coming. | |||
| 5:45 | Holding | Attack | 0-0 |
| Holding (-1) overhits his long pass straight to two City defenders. | |||
| 6:30 | Chambers | Defense | 0-0 |
| Chambers (-3) contributes at the start and finish of the first City goal, first by delaying to close down in midfield, then by getting outjumped by Gundogen at the back post. Smith Rowe (-1) not close enough in midfield or in the Arsenal third to do anything about it. | |||
| 9:15 | Holding | Defense | 1-0 |
| Holding (-1) chases Torres a beat too long, opening space for Gundogen to run off his shoulder. Odegaard (-1) fails to track. | |||
| 9:35 | Tierney | Defense | 1-0 |
| Tierney (-1) loses Gundogen at the back post. Only a Leno (+1) saves keeps the score 1-0. | |||
| 10:25 | Xhaka | Defense | 1-0 |
| Xhaka (-1) fails to get over in time to cut the passing lane into Gundogen off. Chambers (-1) plays off allowing him to receive and turn. Odegaard fouls to stop the break. | |||
| 11:10 | Soares | Defense | 1-0 |
| City take the free kick short and Arsenal opt to defend it 1v3. Arteta (-3). Silva eventually decides to cross into the box, where Soares (-3) not only whiffs his clearance attempt, but also directs the ball into Torres's path, who's free because Chambers (-2) has gone down holding his face and left him all alone. 2-0. | |||
| 13:55 | Soares | Defense | 2-0 |
| Two minutes to forget from Soares (-1). He's played the ball off the kickoff, where he dribbles around in a circle and loses it out of bounds for a City throw. | |||
| 14:10 | Smith Rowe | Defense | 2-0 |
| Smith Rowe (+1) nicks the ball and starts Arsenal on a break that comes to nothing. | |||
| 14:20 | Kolasinac | Defense | 2-0 |
| Kolasinac (-1) juggled over on the edge of the midfield third, and City stretch their legs. Xhaka (+1) slows the attack by knocking the ball out of bounds. | |||
| 15:35 | Holding | Defense | 2-0 |
| Holding (+1) alert to the run across his face and kicks out for a throw. | |||
| 15:55 | Xhaka | Defense | 2-0 |
| Xhaka (-1) goes on a walk about pressing the City back line, leaving a hole in midfield that Odegaard (-1) and Smith Rowe (-1) are slow to recognize. On the cross, Chambers (-1) and Soares (-1) fail to sort their marks, but Torres mis-hits his shot. | |||
| 16:53 | Aubameyang | Attack | 2-0 |
| Aubameyang (+1) wins the Leno goal kick, flicking it on to... no one make the run behind him. | |||
| 17:20 | Tierney | Defense | 2-0 |
| Tierney (+1) quick to tackle a loose Walker touch. | |||
| 18:30 | Leno | Attack | 2-0 |
| Leno (-1) hits long and inaccurate. | |||
| 19:05 | Smith Rowe | Defense | 2-0 |
| Smith Rowe (+1) nearly scores a goal, pressing Ederson into kicking the ball against him. The ricochet goes just wide. | |||
| 20:10 | Holding | Defense | 2-0 |
| Kolasinac (-1) steps high and gets played over, but Holding (+1) tracks down well to cover. | |||
| 21:00 | Tierney | Defense | 2-0 |
| Tierney (-1) heads his clearance back into the Arsenal box, but Arsenal get the benefit of the bounce to clear. | |||
| 22:25 | Leno | Attack | 2-0 |
| Leno (-1) hits long to Aubameyang, who's covered by three City defenders. | |||
| 23:20 | Soares | Defense | 2-0 |
| Grealish plays past Soares (-1) like he's not even there, then gets dragged down. Yellow card. | |||
| 24:07 | Tierney | Attack | 2-0 |
| Tierney (-1) pressed into playing the ball out of bounds. | |||
| 25:35 | Odegaard | Attack | 2-0 |
| Ederson passes the ball straight to Odegaard (+1), who pings it to Aubameyang (+1). His first-time layoff puts Xhaka in shooting position, but offside. | |||
| 26:15 | Tierney | Defense | 2-0 |
| Tierney (+1) wins the aerial duel. | |||
| 26:18 | Xhaka | Attack | 2-0 |
| Xhaka (-1) can't deal with the bouncing ball and overhits Smith Rowe out of bounds. | |||
| 27:00 | Odegaard | Defense | 2-0 |
| Odegaard (+1) wins the ball back for Arsenal. | |||
| 27:30 | Kolasinac | Defense | 2-0 |
| Kolasinac (+1) strong in defense to win the ball off Jesus, then yellow carded for the same action that went unpunished on the second goal. Refs -1. | |||
| 29:20 | Leno | Defense | 2-0 |
| Leno (+1) claims the corner. | |||
| 29:35 | Smith Rowe | Attack | 2-0 |
| Smith Rowe (-1) unaware and turns straight into Jesus. | |||
| 29:50 | Smith Rowe | Attack | 2-0 |
| Smith Rowe (+1) takes the bouncing ball past two City defenders, gets tripped, and the referee plays on. Refs -1. | |||
| 30:20 | Holding | Attack | 2-0 |
| Holding (-1) tries to go over the top to Aubameyang but overhits it. | |||
| 30:45 | Tierney | Attack | 2-0 |
| Chambers (+1) plays Tierney (+1) down the left channel, who beats Walker then gets nudged over. Probably not a penalty. Not definitely, though. | |||
| 31:20 | Xhaka | Defense | 2-0 |
| Holding (+1) wins the aerial duel, then Xhaka (+1) tackles the 50/50 to keep possession with Arsenal. | |||
| 31:30 | Smith Rowe | Attack | 2-0 |
| Smith Rowe (-1) shows too much of the ball to the City defenders and loses it. | |||
| 32:08 | Kolasinac | Defense | 2-0 |
| Kolasinac (-1) dives into a tackle and gets spun, but Odegaard (+1) tracks back to win it for Arsenal. | |||
| 32:20 | Soares | Attack | 2-0 |
| Soares (-2) plays a 15 yard pass straight out of bounds despite being under no pressure whatsoever. | |||
| 32:50 | Kolasinac | Defense | 2-0 |
| Kolasinac (+1) blocks the pass. | |||
| 33:00 | Odegaard | Attack | 2-0 |
| Odegaard (-1) loses the ball in midfield. | |||
| 33:05 | Xhaka | Defense | 2-0 |
| Xhaka (-1) loses Gundogen in midfield, then Soares (-2) gets nutmegged by Cancelo, whose cross hits the side netting. | |||
| 34:15 | Soares | Attack | 2-0 |
| Soares (-1) loses the aerial duel. | |||
| 34:35 | Leno | Attack | 2-0 |
| Leno (-1) leaves the ball in the air too long and it's intercepted. | |||
| 34:40 | Xhaka | Defense | 2-0 |
| Xhaka (-5) two-foots Cancelo and gets sent off. | |||
| 37:00 | Soares | Defense | 2-0 |
| Soares (+1) heads the free kick out for a corner. | |||
| 37:45 | Tierney | Defense | 2-0 |
| Chambes gets a head to the corner, but not far enough to clear. Tierney (+1) blocks the ensuing shot. | |||
| 28:16 | Smith Rowe | Defense | 2-0 |
| Smith Rowe (+1) heads the corner clear. | |||
| 38:50 | Holding | Defense | 2-0 |
| Man City pass around the Arsenal box for nearly a minute before sending in a cross that Holding (+1) deals with. | |||
| 39:25 | Leno | Defense | 2-0 |
| Leno (+1) punches the corner clear. | |||
| 39:40 | Saka | Attack | 2-0 |
| City pass the ball straight to Saka (-1), but he's slow to react and gets the ball stolen back off him. | |||
| 40:50 | Aubameyang | Attack | 2-0 |
| Leno hits long to Aubameyang (+1), who tries to flick the ball on to...himself. Needless to say, he doesn't get there. | |||
| 41:05 | Soares | Defense | 2-0 |
| Soares (-1) presses needless into midfield, then can't recover in time on a ball over the top. Arsenal take possession back only because Grealish stops running. | |||
| 41:40 | Smith Rowe | Defense | 2-0 |
| Smith Rowe (-1) leads the hopeless Arsenal press, then is out of position when it doesn't come off. Soares (-1) shifts inside without actually covering anyone, leaving the right side free while also failing to block the passing lane. Ederson's pass erases five Arsenal defenders. Chambers (-1) gets beat by Grealish. Only -1 because Grealish in full stride is tought for anyone, nevermind Arsenal's 5h choice CB. Kolasinac (-2) and Holding (-2) let Jesus get inside position to slot home the cross. 3-0. | |||
| 43:15 | Holding | Attack | 3-0 |
| Holding (-2) loses the ball within four seconds of the kickoff. | |||
| 43:20 | Smith Rowe | Defense | 3-0 |
| Smith Rowe (+1) able to recover the ball for Arsenal inside their own box. | |||
| 43:40 | Smith Rowe | Defense | 3-0 |
| Arsenal's midfield now consists of Odegaard, Saka, and Smith Rowe (-1), the latter of whom overshifts freeing the center of the pitch. | |||
| 43:45 | Chambers | Defense | 3-0 |
| Chambers (-1) gets turned inside out... | |||
| 43:50 | Chambers | Defense | 3-0 |
| ...but recovers in time to block the cross. Chambers (+1). | |||
| 44:00 | Kolasinac | Defense | 3-0 |
| Kolasinac (+1) heads the cross out for a corner. | |||
Analysis
I got 15 minutes into charting the second half before giving up. The 55 minutes after Xhaka’s red card consisted of two of Arsenal’s youngest players repeatedly overshifting as they tried to be in two places at once while playing out of position at the base of midfield:
I’m not going to kill them for that. Not when the Gunners had 14-percent possession, and the team was in turtle mode the entirety of the second half. Minutes played are accurate for the full 90. Charting ends at halftime.
Chart
| Att | Att | Att | Def | Def | Def | ||||
| Goalkeeper | + | - | +/- | Goalkeeper | + | - | +/- | Total | Minutes |
| Bernd Leno | 0 | 3 | -3 | Bernd Leno | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 90 |
| Defenders | + | - | +/- | Defenders | + | - | +/- | Total | Minutes |
| Kieran Tierney | 3 | 1 | 2 | Kieran Tierney | 3 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 90 |
| Sead Kolasinac | 0 | 0 | 0 | Sead Kolasinac | 3 | 5 | -2 | -2 | 90 |
| Rob Holding | 0 | 4 | -4 | Rob Holding | 4 | 3 | 1 | -3 | 90 |
| Calum Chambers | 3 | 1 | 2 | Calum Chambers | 2 | 9 | -7 | -5 | 90 |
| Cedric Soares | 0 | 4 | -4 | Cedric Soares | 1 | 8 | -7 | -11 | 90 |
| Midfielders | + | - | +/- | Midfielders | + | - | +/- | Total | Minutes |
| Granit Xhaka | 0 | 1 | -1 | Granit Xhaka | 2 | 8 | -6 | -7 | 35 |
| Mohamed Elneny | NA | NA | NA | Mohamed Elneny | NA | NA | NA | NA | 45 |
| Ainsley Maitland-Niles | NA | NA | NA | Ainsley Maitland-Niles | NA | NA | NA | NA | 19 |
| Attackers | + | - | +/- | Attackers | + | - | +/- | Total | Minutes |
| Emile Smith Rowe | 2 | 2 | 0 | Emile Smith Rowe | 4 | 5 | -1 | -1 | 90 |
| Bukayo Saka | 1 | 3 | -2 | Bukayo Saka | 0 | 0 | 0 | -2 | 45 |
| Martin Ødegaard | 2 | 1 | 1 | Martin Ødegaard | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 71 |
| Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang | 4 | 0 | 4 | Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 59 |
| Alexandre Lacazette | NA | NA | NA | Alexandre Lacazette | NA | NA | NA | NA | 31 |
| Total | 15 | 20 | -5 | Total | 24 | 42 | -18 | -23 | 935 |
Player Ratings
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang [+4 Att | 0 Def | +4 Ovr | 59 Mins]
Again, just three outfield players ending the day in positive territory. Aubameyang’s +4 led the way, but only because he didn’t get enough touches to contribute in any meaningful way. His best contribution is clipped below. It wouldn’t have counted anyway because Xhaka had strayed offside.
Still, it’s a touch he’s not shown consistently, and an a game of overwhelming negatives, the hope that Aubameyang might be able to play that same pass again this season is something positive. I’m stretching, I know.
Cedric Soares [-4 Att | -7 Def | -11 Ovr | 90 Mins]
Soares brought up the rear. His statline was going around Twitter after the game:
On first watch, I didn’t think he was that bad. On second, he was terrible. Remember, his -11 came in just 45 minutes. Had the second half been charted, he might have set futility records.
I mean, you’re telling me Ainsley Maitland-Niles can’t get a game over this guy?
Arteta froze him out after the Europa League tie against Slavia Prague a year ago. I wouldn’t be surprised if he does so again now. Especially after signing Takehiro Tomiyasu.
Calum Chambers [+2 Att | -7 Def | -5 Ovr | 90 Mins]
The other massive negative, Chambers directly contributed to Arsenal’s first two goals conceded:
I have some sympathy for him on the second. There’s no excuse on the first. Chambers is a center half getting out-jumped by the shortest player on the pitch because he can’t sort his feet out. Arsenal were terrible on the day as a whole. Chambers was among the worst.
Looking Ahead – Matchday 4: Norwich City
Arsenal sit bottom of the Premier League after three games. They’ve yet to score a goal. The good news: 19th-place Norwich come to the Emirates the first game after the international break.
Arteta’s side have to win. After signing six new players this summer—and spending €165 million doing so—the excuses have all but dried up. On paper, this should be a rout.
But games aren’t played on paper, and there’s not a team in the Premier League lower on confidence. There’s a real possibility that the manager has lost the locker room.
We’ll see on September 11. The Gunners should be close to full strength, if not all the way there: Gabriel and Thomas Partey should be back from their injury layoffs, and Lacazette / Aubameyang / White will be all the way recovered from their bouts with Covid-19.
Arsenal will either kick start their season, or end Arteta’s. Looking forward to seeing which.
Prediction: Arsenal 3 – 1 Norwich City