Another weekend, another late showing for Arsenal, which once again left it late in order to get a result.
Another weekend, another late showing for Arsenal, which once again left it late in order to get a result. And what an important one it might just be.
Last weekend, it was a 94th-minute equalizer from Gabriel Martinelli against Manchester City. On Sunday, playing in front of a loud, thunderous St. James’ Park, Mikel Arteta’s side recovered against Newcastle United after being down 1-0 for the majority of the game by scoring two late goals for the 2-1 win. Arsenal now sits in second place in the Premier League table and after Liverpool’s loss to Crystal Palace, the Gunners concluded the weekend just two points away from Arne Slot’s side.
It was a hectic game of major VAR dramatics as early on Arsenal thought it earned a penalty after Nick Pope appeared to have fouled Viktor Gyökeres inside the penalty area, but it was overturned. It was a tough one to decide for sure, but there was the tiniest of touches from the goalkeeper to counter the original decision.
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In the 34th minute, Newcastle, pushed by its fans, opened the scoring. How about Nick Woltemade, by the way? The German made it 1-0 thanks to a header from Sandro Tonali and now with two league goals — both scored at home — the 6-foot-6 striker has quickly made Newcastle fans forget about Alexander Isak. Woltemade, who looks more like a surfer character in a ‘90s teen high school drama, is loved by the Toon Army due to his work ethic, not just his scoring, and that’s something that goes down well with the Geordie faithful. Newcastle celebrated with the lead.
The first half was a perfect example of Arsenal’s known personality. It creates a lot of pretty patterns but the ruthlessness is often missed. In the first 45 minutes, the Gunners earned 22 touches inside Newcastle’s box. Only Tottenham had more as an away team in the Premier League this season, but Arteta’s side entered the dressing room trailing by a goal.
As the second half developed, the North Londoners looked most likely to score but with 10 minutes remaining, they continued to struggle to find an equalizer. But finally, it was the reliable Mikel Merino who came to the rescue and the funny thing about it is that it was similar to Woltemade’s goal as Declan Rice produced an in-swinger for the Spanish international. Merino scored against his former side and made it 1-1 with five minutes remaining in regular time. There was a possibility of a penalty for Newcastle after a handball in the box but VAR once again deemed it not so.
Arsenal kept pushing and thanks to yet another set piece, Gabriel came to the rescue with a 96th-minute winner. It was a massive result and even though we’re still in September, we have to remember that when these teams arrive in May and look back on the season, they will reflect on the “what ifs.” Last weekend against City and Sunday are two great examples.
Arsenal showed extreme resiliency against Newcastle and refused to give up. It’s a testament to the character of the squad, not just its depth and that might just be the needed remedy in order to win the Premier League title for the first time in more than two decades. It simply doesn’t give up and on Sunday, it got what it deserved.
Crystal Palace under Oliver Glasner is the real deal
After repeating last month’s Community Shield’s antics and beating Liverpool once again, thus handing the defending champion its first loss of the season, it’s quite clear to anyone who pays attention that Oliver Glasner’s Crystal Palace is the real deal. The victory over Arne Slot’s side came in dramatic fashion after Eddie Nketiah’s stoppage-time winner but let’s not get it twisted now, the home side were absolutely good enough for the three points.
“We were able to create quite a lot against a Palace team, which hardly ever concedes a chance,” said Slot after the game. “But when you look at the first half, they totally deserved to win. In the second half, it was a much better performance from us. If one team deserved to win, it was Palace.”
This type of admission continues to be the trend for any opponent facing them as the Eagles have now matched their own record of 18 matches without a loss in all competitions and stand alone as the only undefeated team in the Premier League season.
“We’re still in September, so there’s nothing more to say,” said Glasner to Sky Sports. “Last year, we were the only team who had never won at this stage of the Premier League. They ended with a points record and winning the FA Cup. That’s why we’re always humble. We take this positivity and these positive feelings and emotions.”
And that’s Glasner to a tee. The Austrian is methodical, careful, calm and structured. He doesn’t get carried away because he knows that this job is about tranquility over hype. He was the same at Eintracht Frankfurt when the Bundesliga side won the Europa League in his first season as boss but it came at a season when the German side struggled until the second half of the campaign. At Palace, it has equally been a step-by-step process making Palace stronger since his arrival in February of 2024. His strategy adapts to the players as opposed to the other way around and that’s why he is such a tremendous head coach, because he adjusts and allows his players to shine, with or without the ball. Actually, the latter is how they prefer it.
On Saturday, Palace had less than 30% possession against Liverpool but had almost double the shots on target and that’s their DNA. Their confidence lies in the preparedness and application as opposed to aimlessly looking for something when they have the ball. Crystal Palace is the most confident team in the Premier League right now. It knows exactly who it is and wants to be and that’s a characteristic that can be very hard to break down.
Man United woes continue
Two weeks ago after the 3-0 loss in the derby to Manchester City, I wrote about Man United’s ineptitude and how the walls were closing for Ruben Amorim. I wasn’t the only one to say it as it was clear that the lack of identity, the inconsistency, the poor defending — and much more — continued to surface despite the overwhelming amount of player investment placed this past summer. Last weekend, the victory against Chelsea gave the Red Devils a flicker of hope, perhaps prompting a new sense of belief. But honestly? I don’t know if it’s because I have been writing and talking about this club for so long or perhaps it's the critic in me, but I just knew that the optimism would not last.
On Saturday, the sentiment was justified as Brentford won 3-1 against an Amorim side that has yet to record back-to-back league victories since the Portuguese manager arrived at the club 10 months ago. It also means that under Amorim, United have won only nine out of 33 matches in the league. That’s just unacceptable.
United, quite simply, loves to take a step forward right before taking two giant leaps backward. And in terms of Amorim, taking into consideration the numbers I just shared, it’s pretty remarkable to think he still has a job, at least when you consider the pressure-cooker environment of the Premier League and even more so when it’s Manchester United. The philosophy of his football is not only not clicking but it is his stubbornness that fails him to see the forest for the trees because it’s obvious that the team is not equipped for what he demands, which is a 5-2-3 of sorts, where every player — like a piece on a chess board — needs to stick to his role. There is a rigidity to it. When you have a player like Bruno Fernandes, who is the complete opposite of this, it’s obvious that it’s not going to work. I am not surprised he missed his penalty against Brentford because you could see the doubt in his mind. And he’s not alone.
Alongside Manuel Ugarte, the central midfield gets overpowered and thanks to set-piece expert Keith Andrews, who was in charge of them under Thomas Frank before becoming Brentford manager, the Bees took full advantage of an insecure United with overpowering situations in set pieces and transitions. United now has gone though the last eight league matches away from home without a victory.
I don't know how long Amorim has and if he will lose his job or if he will change his philosophy in order to suit the players at his disposal, but I do know the former is more likely to happen than the latter.
Category: General Sports
