‘Get him off!’
‘Arteta, he’s out of his depth!’
So yelled the voice to my left on Tuesday night.
‘Get someone off the bench to replace him!’
‘‘If he stays on to half-time, we’ll let in a goal and that’ll be the end for us.’
The voice of this expert pundit’s ire was Leondro Trossard. It was true, he had been underwhelming – tell me an Arsenal player who wasn’t, especially in the first half – and he did have the ball nicked off his toes while standing on the touchline. But he, and the manager, persisted. And we all know what happened next!
Another expert from behind (it’s amazing how 60,257 of us can know so much and yet not be managing a top side) was bellowing at Martin Ødergaard, accusing him of having a poor game and that he needed to get into it. He obviously heard this voice from the upper tier, despite the cacophony and advice from the other 60,256 because, well, you know what happened next.
Opinion seemed to be split on who was the man of the match. Raya was given it by the TV experts, while most of the morning papers focused on Ødergaard’s contribution. I’d give it to the Norwegian. It never ceases to amaze me the way he keeps running, running and running. Controlling the game. Seeking to make things happen. He even managed most of a lap around the stadium at the end, to thank the remaining supporters who hadn’t rushed off to catch their last train. He is a true captain, the leader we’ve been craving for since…. Frank McClintock or Patrick Vierra or whoever.
I have to say (well, I don’t, but if I don’t say, this blog will be a bit on the short side) I was not at all sure about him when he arrived. He was part of the club’s not entirely successful policy of signing promising youth players (Tavares, Lokonga, Marquinhos anyone?) and I wasn’t convinced by his loan period – not least as he was playing out on the right. This was the territory inhabited by Emile Smith Rowe and led to the Saka-Smith Rowe song as they wove their magic over defences. Then in came Ødergaard and Smith Rowe – when he wasn’t injured – was displaced and has since become almost surplus to requirements. But Arteta saw something in Martin as he has also done in Raya and Havertz that we, the experts in the seats, seldom do.
So while we will continue to disagree with individual substitutions, selections and signings, we are (at the time of writing) top of the Premier League and in the next round of the Champions League. Somebody must be doing something right!
Meanwhile, that’s it until April. A relief in a way that after last night, everyone (crowd included) has a chance to recover. Porto were clever, not unskilled and if you look at their recent record in Portugal, very much on the up (undefeated since they beat us and with a goal glut of threes and fives in virtually every game). They were no mugs. Declan Rice went straight to the defeated Porto players after the final penalty, recognising what a fight they’d put up and how hard they’d made it for us. Though we really could have done without the delaying, play-dead tactics that disrupted our rhythm and may have contributed to the below-par Arsenal performance. Expect more of the same in the next round. Meanwhile, we have to wait until after Easter for our next games.
Although not exactly. The women’s team has some exciting and important matches coming up. Could there be trophies right across the club and a double open-top bus celebration at the end of the season? Watch this space!
Richard Smith 13/03/24