Right from the off Arsenal looked like a side who had a point to prove. There was urgency in the reliable form of the returned Alexis Sanchez, but also a unity in the side’s tempo and fluent passing football. Although still early in the season, there was a lot that could be garnered from this more impressive Arsenal display, Here’s five things we learned:
Five Lessons Learned From a Resilient Arsenal
1. Giroud CAN produce golden moments:
Arsenal fans may still feel hard done by with no new striker arriving at the club, but today’s performance by Olivier Giroud will have given cynics some hope. Arsenal put an awful lot of pressure on Palace early on in the game and it was of vital importance that there was a goal to show for it. Arsenal had a total of 22 shots in their opening game defeat to West Ham, yet failed to find the net. The early stages of the game offered Arsenal a chance to rebel against the ‘wasteful’ label from their first game – Giroud deserves credit for helping make it happen, and in some style.
2. Overplay on the edge of the box is dangerous
It seemed like an obvious one after last week, but it still unfortunately looks like a message that needs reinforcing. Early on the in the game there was almost a replicated version of events to the West Ham game. Arsenal failed to clear their lines, tried to run the ball out and then left Yohan Cabaye to have a shot from very much his ideal range. Arsenal are a team capable of playing it out from the back but sometimes that philosophy has to be made redundant. It might not be glamorous, but simply clearing the ball away from danger can avoid this from happening very, very easily,
The Crystal Palace equaliser came from an edge of the box strike. In fairness, it was the second magnificent strike of the game and was incredibly difficult for Cech to stop. However, questions remain as to why no one had picked up the man on the edge of the box. Arsenal seem a little too calm to let other teams have the ball in this area and that is something that will need to be alleviated by their next game.
In the second half, when hanging on, Arsenal adopted a nonsense approach at the back and it worked. The approach of shutting up shop is often criticised, especially by fellow title challengers and holders Chelsea. There is a reason it’s used though, because it works so frequently. Arsenal don’t entirely need to change their approach to but simply allow flexibility depending on the circumstances of the game. Today they did that fairly well and it was one of the main contributing factors to the win.
3. Hector Bellerin is still learning and improving
Bellerin was kept extremely busy and some players would collapse completely against Zaha, Bolasie and Puncheon running at them full pace at trying to cause problems at every opportunity. It wasn’t an easy game for him but there was no collapse. Yes, on occasion he was caught out and tested considerably, but perhaps most impressively he didn’t let this phase him. It’s important to remember that each game will still be a learning curve for Bellerin, it’s actually a compliment to his form that this is often forgotten.
It’s also pleasing to see his involvement in the second goal. A well picked out cross found Sanchez, and although the last touch came off Palace’s Delaney, Bellerin’s input is still extremely valuable. The challenge now for Bellerin is to find a way to best balance his defensive responsibilities with his attacking abilities. His pace naturally makes this role easier as he can interchange the two quickly – a vital advantage to his game.
4. Mesut Özil’s passing is a joy to watch
Reece Oxford may have made life incredibly difficult for Özil last week, but this week Özil showed something like the form Arsenal fans have come to expect. His passing was excellent, not only for Giroud’s opener, but also throughout the entire game. Expectations are so high it seems very difficult for the German to please everyone. At times he has struggled to be at his very best and his head has dropped because of it. Confidence is vital to the entirety of this Arsenal side including and perhaps especially, Mesut Özil. There’s no reason he can’t find the form he wants this year, self-belief should spring from victories like today and only increase his performance levels in games to come.
5. Resilience is of the utmost importance
Arsenal started so well in the game and got their reward – an early goal. It was a perfect start. When things didn’t go to plan and Palace managed to score against the run of play, things could very easily have gone backwards for The Gunners. This wasn’t the case. Arsenal looked a little shocked but nothing more. The team’s determination was clear to see and the work rate, bar a five minute drop off early in the second half, was extremely encouraging to see.
It wasn’t ‘vintage Arsenal’, but then again, it didn’t need to be. After an opening day defeat the only thing that matters is a win, through any means necessary. There was some defensive frailties, the occasional mistake from players, but all in all a strong team performance helped override these facts. Arsenal weren’t outstanding today, but they were resilient and showed a strong desire. It’s still too early in the season to draw too many conclusions into this Arsenal side, but one is clear; Arsenal will have already felt like they had to win this game and they did.
