I’m surprised by the reaction of some pundits and a portion of our fanbase after Sunday.
Given the manner in which Arsenal lifted the Premiership last season, why has it taken a fixture at the City Ground for some to apparently realise that Arsenal don’t play the most entertaining brand of football anymore?
Why anyone who’s watched the Champions in the last 12 months was expecting anything different this week would surprise me.
Rightly or wrongly, our manager a long time ago decided the best way to build a title-winning squad was to prioritise improving our defence.
A sign of a good coach is one who accentuates the positives and hides the negatives. The Spaniard came up with ways his team could be better than Man City, such as being more organised, working harder off the ball, being creative at set pieces, defending from the front, etc.
The best sides in history are the ones who have a great defence. It sounds obvious, but if you don’t concede many, you only need one moment of magic to win a game.
For over a year now, Mikel Arteta has played those percentages, mastering the art of being hard to beat, barely conceding shots on target, let alone goals.
Has Arteta Sacrificed Arsenal’s Attacking Football?
In last campaign’s run-in, the assumption was that if the 44-year-old could get over the line, he would attempt to go back to the attacking style of play he originally attempted.
Instead, our attack was made weaker in the summer. Trossard, Martinelli, Jesus and Nwaneri (on loan) were all allowed to leave North London, with only Tzolis replacing them.
It was a gamble that didn’t need to be taken and one that Andrea Berta wouldn’t have taken without our boss’s blessing, such is his increasing control over all aspects of the club.
A gamble made more confusing given there is clearly a lack of trust in Viktor Gyokeres.
It’s either faith our tactics will keep working, naivety, arrogance or all three. There are already signs opponents have worked out how to defend our free kicks and corners more effectively.
Many Gooners grew up being educated by Mr Wenger’s ethos and will never accept the current brand of football they have to watch.
The Frenchman’s principle was to play an exciting brand of football. Even in his final years in charge, rivals would say if nothing else, the Emirates was a place you could be entertained.
His version of Arsenal almost guaranteed they would convert possession into chances.
In Nottingham, the visitors translated having approximately 73 percent of the ball into one shot on target, a deflected one at that.
As Mr Wenger’s ex-captain and with Pep Guardiola as a mentor, many are waiting for our former midfielder to be less conservative, but that might never happen.
(Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images)
Does Winning Justify Arsenal’s Approach?
I have written before that you don’t have to like his vision, but it should be respected.
The amount of matches he grinds out, the lack of saves Raya has to make, the work rate off the ball, the quickness possession is won back, the last-ditch blocks, none of that is a coincidence.
It’s an art form how we defend.
It should be pointed out that Arsenal got zero flowers when free-flowing football didn’t equate to trophies. We went through a period of being accused of being too soft/nice. Now some critique us for doing that.
You can’t blame the man for thinking the ends justify the means. His current system ended a 22-year drought, so the thought process of why fix something that isn’t broken is understandable.
Some supporters care about how that silverware is earned, and of course there is a world where you can lift trophies while entertaining the public.
I just don’t understand what happened this weekend that’s changed what we already knew.
Dan Smith
Has Arteta earned the right to prioritise results over entertainment after delivering the title, and can we expect more of the same against Everton on Saturday? Join the discussion in the comments below.
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