On the bus after Bournemouth. Very pale performance in a pale kit

Arsenal got the first defeat of the season, that might end up being quite costly. After an early red card, Arsenal didn’t show any qualities to declare the victory. And as all team looks quite pale today, the result was logical.

I don’t like our third gaming kit. It is pale. It doesn’t look like a kit the champions would wear. It might be an interesting option for a training kit, but not a match one for sure. The black one is strong, the traditional one as well. But this is as pale as the last season green, which we wore in a defeat to Bayern. I am not sure who is approving such designs from Arsenal’s side, but I would ask them questions.

Toughness and defensive solidity isn’t a long term solution

The starting line-up showed a clear message: we will try to contain Bournemouth as much as possible and hope we will get a goal somehow, preferably after a set piece, where we push the opponents together with the ball inside the goal using our massive bodies.

Well, this tactics doesn’t work. It is too defensive! It is too conservative! One part of a successful defence is to constantly keep the opponent in the fear of counterattacks. That’s why Mourinho had complemented the strong defensive structure with 2-3 extremely talented individuals upfront, like Hazard. But we don’t have such individuals, we have a system that got us through the last two seasons. And this system doesn’t work if we don’t have Saka and Odegaard. If they are out of the team, we need to replace them with the most creative players in the middle – Trossard or Nwaneri.

So expectedly, the first half was pale. Only Sterling was dribbling past the defenders and getting into the box. I know people are not happy with him not producing the end product. But he was creating something, unlike the other players. It was so discouraging to see him go after the red card. I don’t think it was a correct decision. The midfield of Rice, Partey and Havertz contained Man City. Surely it could contain Bournemouth? But Raheem could be the one to create an occasional goal-scoring opportunity.

In general most of the players had a bad game:

• Trossard gave an awful pass back for Evanilson.
• Saliba made a sloppy challenge, in the situation that didn’t require it.
• Raya had dropped a ball in the box a couple of times
• Kiwior made a horrible mistake to close the game.
• I didn’t notice any attacking actions from Partey in the whole game
• Havertz couldn’t connect with anybody upfront.

The goal came again after a corner kick ended up in a shot around a penalty spot. Christie was completely free, just as Kovacic was back at the Etihad. What do we expect when we leave the player there alone? This is already a pattern and it surely must be a criticism to our set piece coach, who should be prepared to defend with 10 men already.

Referee conspiracy finds the confirmation

The third instance in 8 games of Arsenal getting a red card in an episode where other teams and players are forgiven clearly demonstrates a pattern. They have all agreed that whenever there’s an opportunity to give a red card to an Arsenal player, it will be given. It’s no surprise that Howard Webb was messaging somebody when it happened. It fits very much into something driven by Man City, who were so active in spreading the “dark arts” and “cheating” propaganda through media channels. And I don’t trust the honesty of PGMOL a single minute.

And while Saliba was sloppy, you almost never see red cards given for a foul so high up the pitch. There are already multiple instances all across the Internet, including our game with Villa, where the red was not given.

Frustrating summary

I have had my concerns on the Arsenal creativity after Leicester and Southampton, but some bloggers and fans were saying that it’s non-sense, we scored 7 goals and shouldn’t be concerned. This game showed another reason why we should. Against Leicester we were lucky to claim three points late in the game. And against Southampton Saka pulled us through the line. Now without Saka and Odegaard in the team, we are toothless. I don’t understand how Arteta doesn’t see that?

We created 0.16 xG in the first half. We entered the second half without any recognisable plan to score. I know we were down to ten men, but it was Bournemouth, for God’s sake. They wasted a ton of chances upfront and are not the team to be afraid of. There was no plan to score in the second half and the best chances came from Kepa’s blunder that recorded 0.5 out of overall Arsenal 0.74 xG. But the players themselves didn’t create a single good opportunity.

We need the creative player in the middle. Trossard shouldn’t be on the wing, where he’s getting eaten by quick wing backs half of the time. He should be in the middle. Either him or Nwaneri, who shows every time that he has that special spark about him. He creates, he dribbles, he gives good crosses. He is fully ready to contribute to this team’s creativity. I don’t want to hear about “inexperience”. Where did experience of Trossard, Saliba and Kiwior bring us today? His face shows 100% of concentration. He might not be ready to play 90 minutes. But hey, Martinelli was only going to play less than a half. Why couldn’t Nwaneri be the one to play first 50 minutes?

Before the game I was concerned about us losing more than 2 points in this stretch. But now I don’t see the team being favourites for 3 points in Liverpool and Chelsea game. Just defensive solidity will not get us the title. Maybe Saka can pull us through, but also the opponent coaches will be prepared for that and we need a plan B to counter that. Today there was no plan B and it was Arteta’s defeat.