Morning, welcome to a brand new week.
If last weekend was one where points dropped by the teams considered our title rivals made it important we took advantage, this weekend was one to maintain the status quo. Both Liverpool and Man City won their games, but our win over Burnley ensured we kept our lead at the top of the table.
It is quite funny how we’ve had so many stories and discussions about how Arsenal are too reliant on set-pieces, yet you don’t really hear anyone say the same about City’s reliance on Erling Haaland. Obviously he’s an incredible player in potentially the best form of his Premier League career so far, which is kinda scary really, but he’s scored 13 of their 20 league goals so far this season. Maybe it’s just inevitable with a player as good as he is, but interesting nonetheless.
Anyway, we turn our attention to the Champions League this midweek, with a trip to Slavia Prague. We’ll have to wait and see for open training today, or Mikel Arteta’s press conference later, about a couple of the injury issues we picked up against Burnley. Martin Zubimendi is suspended for this game anyway, so won’t travel, but all eyes will be on Viktor Gyokeres who came off at half-time.
I wonder if, given the extent of the absences we have in the attacking third, if the players are told to be ultra-cautious if they feel any kind of muscular issue. We’re already without Kai Havertz, Gabriel Martinelli, Gabriel Jesus, Noni Madueke and Martin Odegaard, so taking a zero-risk approach with anyone else in our forward line would make some sense. Hopefully it’s not anything too serious, but he’s had to play a lot since his arrival, and the burden has been pretty heavy. Let’s see what today brings in terms of news.
I mentioned Declan Rice yesterday because of how good he was against Burnley, and over the course of this season people have been full of praise for Gabriel (for obvious reasons); Jurrien Timber as he has consolidated his place as the first choice right-back; and William Saliba whose consistency is so impressive. However, and I include myself in this, when people have talked about Riccardo Calafiori, it’s been because of his ability to roam around the pitch and pop up in areas you don’t normally expect to see a left-back.
There was a stat before last week’s game which told us only Gyokeres had had more shots for Arsenal this season, which tells you plenty about his ability to get forward into dangerous areas. However, I think we’re doing him a disservice by not also appreciating his contribution to the back four and our defensive record. He was in and out of the team last season because of injury, and it’s always difficult to show your best form in those circumstances, but I think he’s taken a step forward defensively this season.
In part it’s because of his availability and how that has helped him, but I also think certain aspects of his game which were a bit raw have become more polished. Speaking after the Burnley game, Mikel Arteta told the official site:
He’s been really stable, some big performances. He’s a big contributor to what we’re doing defensively as well. He gives us a lot in attack with his position and his threat. He continues to create chaos for the opposition.
A couple of the players have mentioned the influence on the training ground of Gabriel Heinze since he joined as a coach in the summer. It’s probably not a stretch to think that an ex left-footed centre-half who can also play left-back connected pretty easily with Calafiori and has been a help with regards his defensive development. I love the ‘chaos’ Arteta references, but against Crystal Palace last week he was asked to play a more restrained role on our left hand side, and did so very well.
I think there might have been a few questions last season about the Italian, the injury issues didn’t help, but it was also easy to forget that only Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly were younger than him in the current squad. For defenders in particular experience and maturity are hugely important, and so far this season I think we’re seeing that with Calafiori when it comes to the ‘bread and butter’ of his game. I hope he never changes the way he tries to have an impact in the opposition half, but when he can slot in alongside defenders of the quality we have and reach their level (more or less), it’s very encouraging indeed.
Right, I’ll leave it there this morning. We’ll have an Arsecast Extra for you later on, we’re recording around 10 am. We’ve already put out the call for questions on BlueSky @gunnerblog.bsky.social and @arseblog.com with the hashtag #arsecastextra – or if you’re an Arseblog Member on Patreon, leave your question in the #arsecast-extra-questions channel on our Discord server. The pod should be out around noon.
And, later on again, we’ll have an episode of The 30 over on Patreon, recapping all the weekend’s Premier League action, so please join us for that.
For now, have a good one.
