Gameweek 17 – A Mess in North London
Manchester City versus Arenal was never going to be a bout that drew the sweetest of television ratings for the Premier League. The two sides share perpendicular trajectories, with the axis having been crossed almost a decade ago.
Manchester City boast a squad full of talent and depth at most positions (they’re still searching for that center-back), while Arsenal might be the most top heavy and imbalanced team in the modern Premier League era. All this to say that City’s 3-0 thumping turned out to be one of the few non-surprises we’ve seen from matchups between Big 6 teams this season.
Before ripping apart the Gunners for a woeful display, let’s give credit where it’s due to Kevin De Bruyne and Co. The Belgian thoroughly sliced the spine of Arsenal in the first half, dictating City’s tempo and contributing on the backend with late runs into the box that Arsenal’s midfield could never pick up. He was rewarded with an assist and two goals, the former being an absolute dart arrowed into the roof of the net, and City went on their way back North with Arsenal’s boardmen chasing both their train and Guardiola’s second man in charge.
Beyond a first minute opportunity from Gabriel Martinelli, Arsenal were barren in the attacking half, and lacked any answer to City’s quick possession-based style through the middle of the park. And while you hope Freddie Ljungberg can make the right alterations, there’s not much room for improvement with the tools he’s been given.
Matteo Guendouzi is raw and woefully disciplined, Nicolas Pepe simply can’t defend the way Arsenal need him too, Calum Chambers looks a step behind, and then there’s Mesut Ozil. A player caught in the middle of the club’s see-saw of whether to play him or finally move on.
Arsenal’s issues have been well documented, but it’s difficult to determine what the right path to recovery is now. Freddie Ljungberg might turn out to be a fine coach one day, and he deserves the opportunity to at least find that out at a less-messy organization, but the only reason he is there is because the club sacked Unai Emery with seemingly no earthly idea of what they would do next.
A club the size of Arseal without a compass is a sad ordeal to see decay. Losing 3-0 to this City side is not the end of the world, but the product in the dugout and on the pitch suggests the situation is much, much worse. It turns out those nine electric minutes against West Ham may have been lightning in a bottle. Don’t expect it to strike again soon.
A Tale of Two Blues
At what point should it be time to panic in West London? After a shock 1-0 defeat to Bournemouth, the Blues have now lost four of their last five Premier League matches after winning the prior six. The well of youthful attacking energy seems to be drying up, their side having produced only two goals in those four matches where they grabbed zero points.
What might be most concerning though is that Lampard’s men haven’t been able to dig out at least one point against Everton, West Ham or now, Bournemouth. Against an opponent in Bournemouth that sat and looked to hit on the counter, Chelsea created a lot less than you would have expected, with Emerson’s point-blank header straight into Henderson’s chest being the only viable opportunity on the evening.
So now the quest for a top four spot becomes more difficult for a young Chelsea side with a rejuvenated Tottenham only three points off them in fifth. News of their transfer ban being lifted this week gives Lampard reinforcement options in January, but it doesn’t feel as though the experiment should be over quite yet. There’s a side to this Chelsea team which can blitz their opponents, see the side losing just two of their opening 12 games.
Their upcoming matchup against Mourinho and Spurs should clarify which Chelsea we should expect to see going forward.
Mourinho Escapes at Molineax
Spurs are scenario which is difficult for me to wrap my head around. At one level, the upsurge in performance is undeniable. They’ve risen nine places in the table and the gap between them and the Champions League spots has shrunk from 11 points to just three. Yet Sunday’s 2-1 win thanks to a late unmarked header from Jan Verthongen felt as though Spurs robbed Wolves of at least a point they surely deserved and clouded their shaky performance.
Lucas Moura dazzled Spurs to an early lead, but such an early strike brought Mourinho’s staple defensive tactics into play too early for their own good. Wolves bossed the right side of the pitch through Adama Traore, and Raul Jimenez dropped into space in front of the Tottenham back line with ease. Gazzaniga faced a barrage of attempts all afternoon, and Mourinho had no answer for his Portuguese counterpart standing opposite to him on the touchline.
Yes, the fact that Spurs were able to pull off a late robbery shows that Mourinho is at least gritting out results that Pochettino couldn’t bring. But even Jose understands that more is needed of his squad in matches where they’re expected to win. “It’s one of these victories where quality is not enough,” Mourinho said after the game. “If you’re not a team — a real team, in the real sense of what the word ‘team’ means — it’s impossible.”
A return to Stamford Bridge as the manager of a squad he once said he would never coach, and with a chance to be level on points in fourth place, should provide some answers as to what Mourinho thinks he can produce with his side.
Rapid Fire Responses
Salah Rolls into Qatar
How is it we forget just how good Mohamed Salah is? Maybe we’re still feeling the numbing effects from his dizzying rise two campaigns ago. But his two goals against Watford on the weekend – both unique and inventive in their own ways – reminded us to never sleep on the Egyptian.
Even with numbers more subdued than seasons past, Salah now has nine goals through 14 games played. Plenty enough to be one of the more prolific strikers in the league. And while Liverpool had their moments in the back that Watford should have capitalized on, it’s the talent of players like Mo Salah that aid Liverpool in finding a way to come out of games on top.
The Ferguson Effect
Two games in charge, two mega results for an Everton side in desperate need of a spark of energy. Though he likely understands his time at Goodison is limited, Duncan Ferguson is making the most of his time at the helm of his beloved club via passion and blunt grit. A 1-1 draw against United at Old Trafford is nothing to snuff at, especially considering how poor Everton looked a mere two weeks ago.
But while the enthusiasm supporting his demeanor is one thing, Ferguson’s largest attribute came back and bit him late on after substituting the substitute, Moise Kean, after playing for no more than 20 minutes. Perhaps it was an exercise in tough love, but many would argue there’s a better way to go about it than humiliating the 18-year-old in one of the most significant grounds on the planet.
Back to Reality for Leicester
Leicester would have done well to help themselves by not tripping against Norwich leading into their most significant fixtures of the season. Instead, a 1-1 draw against a still depleted Norwich side sees the league’s second place team drop two points ahead of their matchups against Manchester City and Liverpool in the span of four days.
Hopes surrounding the possibility of second “Mission Impossible” at the King Power were high prior to Saturday. But Norwich played up to their energetic potential from the opening whistle, spearheaded in attack by a reinvigorated Teemu Pukki and fortified by 21-year-old Ben Godfrey. For one of the few times this season, Leicester seemingly had no work-around against the Canaries. A result like this brings the Foxes back to reality that their next two matches are more crucial in the race for the top 4 than the one for the title.
Surprise of the Season
Don’t look too closely, but Sheffield have fired themselves into fifth position after a John Fleck double secured a 2-0 win over Aston Villa. In a battle of the two most hotly hyped promoted clubs, this match was a blueprint of the trajectory each team has undertaken since their jump to the top flight.
Villa have now lost six of their last eight games and need to reverse that form quickly. After Tuesday’s Carabao Cup quarter-final against an improvised Liverpool team, they will resume their quest for Premier League survival by facing Southampton, Norwich and Watford before New Year. They had better not play like they did here.
Sheffield United, by contrast, are a team with exceptional cohesion – with eight of last year’s starters featuring regularly in this season’s campaign — and no obvious shortcomings. Chris Wilder is right up there with Jurgen Klopp for best manager award at the mid-season. And with the top clubs faltering as they are, don’t expect United to plummet out of the picture.
Zeke Ouellette Media 