Raya, fire! (Positives Needs & Hopes) [SUN 0-2 ARS]

Raya, fire

An Arsenal blog from a coach’s perspective 

For some reason in the last week, I’ve had two people ask me who I thought was the best player at Arsenal.

I get asked a lot of questions about Arsenal, but that one hasn’t come in quite a while.

I had to think about it because it’s not ‘clear and obvious’ like the incompetence of the referee association.

The usual suspects are Rice, Raya, Saliba, Gabriel or Saka.

This season Odegaard has elevated himself back into consideration and Timber would be a discussion if he could stay fit.

David Raya gets complimented frequently but he is never in this conversation. I think this is because of the bias towards an outfield player and in particular, an attacking player.

So, how do you judge who the best player in your team is?

I think that the rubric is as follows…

1. The player that plays most consistently at the highest level
2. The player that would be most missed if they weren’t on the field.
3. The player who delivers in every game state and particularly when it really matters.
4. The player with the fewest weaknesses.  

Let’s go through the four points;

1. There are four players at Arsenal that play consistently at a high-level. Rice, Raya, Saliba and Gabriel.
2. For this category you have to be fair and give context. Raya’s back up is a decent goalkeeper. All the others in consideration have backups that are far beyond ‘decent.’ David Raya would be the winner here if it was based on who replaces them, but that would make him more of an MVP based on Kepa‘s lack than being the ‘best player.’ So, ignoring Kepa, Rice, Raya and Gabriel would be the three. Declan Rice is unique in his defensive abilities and stamina to be able to do the same difficult action in the 95th minute as the 1st minute. If Raya was absent, then I believe we would greatly miss his lightning reflexes, his box dominance and his consistency. I put Gabriel above Saliba because I think that his determination and willingness to do actions that most defenders are not willing to do, elevates and motivates the others around him.
3. For consistency at the highest level and ability to perform when it really matters, Raya, Saliba, Gabriel and Rice would be trusted to be in this category as of the last year or so. Saka is close but hasn’t shown the same consistent elevated game when it really matters.
4. This is where you see an obvious difference in the five players. Declan Rice has a couple of obvious weaknesses. He can be too safe when it’s not needed. When he’s asked to play closer to goal, he doesn’t have the goals and assists instinct that a player of his ability could have or the hips to swivel, turn and show the necessary unpredictability. The only weakness I can see in Saliba is from set pieces. He has scored from a couple of corners over the years, but I can’t remember him being a threat from free kicks. Less important detail perhaps but still part of the job that he’s asked to do. Saka can be devastating, but needs to improve his short crossing, right foot finishing and heading ability. I’m seeing improvements this season in his rotational movement and desire to make runs behind the defense, much like he did on Saturday. I do believe that he needs some other ways of beating his defender as he can offer the same couple of tricks which can become a little predictable. This might be somewhat unnecessary and a little picky, but Gabriel’s progressive play could be improved. His improvement is in the ability to drive through the midfield with the ball at his feet on occasion, and pass between the lines when the opportunity arises. Up untill recently, and particularly Saturday, David Raya’s only weakness was saving penalty kicks. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a goalkeeper without a weakness. He has everything and even skills that aren’t necessarily required like line breaking passing.

It’s still very close and maybe this is a little harsh on Gabriel and Saliba in particular, but I think David Raya is the best player at Arsenal.

POSITIVES:

Bruno:

Arsenal could’ve brought in another top class midfielder this summer and everybody would’ve been good with it. Tonali was a good example. A player good enough to play for Arsenal, but not really the player that we needed. Bruno brings two things in particular that Arsenal needed. A player whose first thought is to pass forward and create opportunities. A player who thinks first about shooting when the ball comes to him on the top of the box, whereas most of our midfielders think about a pass.

His goal was glorious, not just because of the quality of the strike, but the first touch.  He feels comfortable in that zone and so his first touch was perfection because he’s done it more than the others.

He’s gonna be very difficult to keep off the field.

Raya:

I’ve already waxed about David Raya, but just wanted to mention his penalty save. On some level it just looked like a routine penalty save but goalkeepers who save shots to their left or right are not normally saving them at ground level. They can’t get there in time. His reflexes are so incredibly fast that he is able to get to the very corner of the goal and hit the ground and save what was a perfectly well hit penalty kick.

The fact that he was not in the list for Balon d’Or, is a travesty up there with Thierry Henry not winning it the year that Pavel Nedved did. Raya should be in consideration for the award and he’s not even on the list of 30.

Odegaard:

Alongside wanting three points and ideally Arsenal to play beautiful football, fans also want to see gifted players use their gifts. Now that Odegaard is back to his form. He is starting to exhibit those beautifully fast and soft feet and delightful jelly hips. Opponents are finding it almost impossible to tackle him.

There are different types of dribblers. He is not a direct running dribbler, but a press resistant dribbler. Nasri, Hleb and Odegaard have all had the gift of being incredibly difficult to win the ball from. Such a joy to watch!

If Arsenal were playing five aside, he would be the best player in the league.

Weaknesses:

Arsenal are a team without an obvious weakness. Again, maybe the first one in my lifetime. It’s always been accepted that every team has strengths and weaknesses and the best ones have very few weaknesses. Maybe two or three ways to get at them. Either a weak mentality when they go behind or a tendency to get angry.. Perhaps they struggle to keep 11 players on the field like Chelsea. They might have a fantastic plan A, but no alternative.

Last season, the numpties that said that Arsenal could only score from set plays have absolutely been put in their place this season. No goals from set plays so far and we’ve won every game.

As we don’t have any obvious weaknesses, we are able to win every type of game. This game fell into the ‘physically difficult’ category. Sunderland offered nothing from open play, but their throw ins and corner kicks were troublesome, either because the referee gave them a penalty for fouling us or allowed them to take 50 seconds to take a throw in.

Timber: 

The security that he brings us is so evident. Ben White isn’t a bad defender. He’s very good otherwise he wouldn’t be playing on this level of Arsenal team. He just has weaknesses where Timber doesn’t. I was doubtful as to whether he was truly offside for his goal as television refused to show us the lines. There should be a rule about that. Either never show us or show us every time otherwise (due to the fact that the standard of refereeing is beyond a joke now) people are naturally skeptical.

New tactical concepts:

There are a couple of new patterns that we are attempting.

The first is somewhat of a carryover from last season.

As Arsenal progressed the ball into the midfield, Saka runs laterally asking for a vertical ball. He then uses his almost unique ability to shield the ball in order to drag it forward and past the opponent. I love this because it suits his ability to shield the ball as well as it giving the opponent a real dilemma. Does the left back follow him or does the opponent have quick enough communication to pass on the run to a midfielder. Very clever.

The second pattern has seen us score at least twice this season. Ordinarily the ball is coming from Tzolis on the left and hit diagonally to the top of the box/penalty spot area. In order to make it happen, Calafiori is normally the one to make a run towards the left-hand side to drag the opponent away, so the pathway is clear. When the ball arrives at Kai’s feet inside the box the defender is reluctant to go for the first touch in case Kai puts his foot in the way and gets a penalty kick. As we know, Odegaard is the one who has benefited from this.

I wanted to mention these two patterns because they are both designed based on giving our opponent a real conundrum.

Konsa:

The conversation around him and Brobbey was largely about the Sunderland striker dominating him. That’s not what happened at all. Konsa was told to man mark him. not normally an assignment for a centre back. He was clearly told to be very cautious in stepping in front of him because he is at least a physical match for every centre back in the league. Arteta had obviously come to the conclusion that rather than trying to out muscle him and constantly give away free kicks, let him have the first touch, but stay with him and trust the other defenders to shift in behind. Sunderland didn’t have anybody making a third man run and so because Brobbey was absent from the front line he might have won the first ball, but there was no immediate threat afterwards. Even though Brobbey is yet to catch fire in England, you might remember his younger days where he scored more goals than games played in. Arteta sacrificed some possession in order to keep him from wanting to run behind. He became a physical threat, sixty yards from our goal. That is very manageable.

Rice:

What is interesting about Declan Rice’s career is that his main attributes of stamina, reading of the game and ball winning are  three attributes that are achievable for other professionals. The reason that he is head and shoulders ahead is that he is a significantly more serious player. He simply wants it more. That is harder to teach and shouldn’t have to be encouraged, but unfortunately, the majority of players with similar gifts are not willing to push themselves like he is. There was a time in the second half when Sunderland were breaking towards our goal and Declan Rice ran at full sprint from 20 yards behind the play and caught it. Most players when they are running back to goal, give a maximum of 80% of their full sprint speed. This was 100% and it stood out. A player who simply takes his craft more seriously.

I’d  also like to mention that Odegaard’s renaissance is in large part down to the security that Rice gives him. Odegaard is just as serious as Rice but in a different way. We would often criticize him for coming too deep but I think it was because he cared too much. Now he feels secure with Rice moving back to DM and so he is playing with greater freedom. It’s still kind of wild to think that Arsenal won the league with Rice not playing in his best position, Kai not able to help for most of the season, Saka the same and not in top form and Odegaard only 50% of the player we are seeing now.

When Arsenal fans semi–jokingly suggest that we will win the league in late March, I don’t think that they are actually joking.

NEEDS:

MLS:

Just an off game. He just needs to remember that when he has made a couple of mistakes that he needs to play the simple ball the next few times or at least not try to make one of his tricky turns in order to get his confidence back.

Subs:

I’m surprised that Arteta, the master of the details, has not told his substitutes to have their shirt and shinpads on while sitting on the bench. That’s always been a pet hate of mine, and I would’ve thought that Arteta would be the one to do it differently.

John Brooks and VAR:

Why did Gabriel get a yellow card for breaking up a potential fight?

Why were we penalized for taking a few seconds too long in at a throw in when Sunderland took three throw-ins that were closer to one minute?

It’s ok that John Brooks was fooled by Danny Ballard, but why is it ok that the VAR officials, who have unlimited time, can get half of their decisions wrong every single week?

HOPES:

White:

It is absolutely not ideal that Timber will have to be thrown straight back into playing too many minutes. We can only hope that White or Mosquera come back quickly. I suppose the international break being a long one is likely helpful.

FINAL THOUGHT:

I thought it was really smart that Arteta’s took this particular opportunity to criticize the officials. I also found it extremely unsurprising that he got called names for doing it. We have to accept that regardless of how close to perfection we are, and he is, the angry heads won’t stop. Ever.

He is now the top manager in the league. Not just because he won the league, but he is without question the best coach in the league now that Pep has left. I’m sure he is aware of this and so his words are more influential.

There might be a tactical element to the timing of his complaint, but the league needs to listen to him. There has never been a coach so detail oriented and so right about so much. If they were humble enough, they would sit down with him and ask his opinion as to what they should do to save themselves.

They won’t, so on we will go with the drama.

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