ARSENAL 4 - 0 ATLETICO de MADRID
UNSTOPPABLE FOUR-CE
With a script like something straight out of a comic book, our two superheroes, Batman and Bane (okay, we know Bane is technically a villain, but don't spoil it), combined to foil the evil plans of the villainous El Cholo.
Yes, with the game at a stalemate, "Our Wall at the Back is Gabriel" (Batman) and our Swedish Man Mountain Gyokeres (Bane), with the aid of their sidekick 'Nelli (erm Robin?) tore Simeones (El Cholo) evil scheme of stealing at least a point from The Carpet to shreds with four second half goals in thirteen minutes.
Okay, enough with the superhero stuff because, as always, there's lots to unpack, so let's dive right in. Again, apologies if we jump around a bit discussing it all. There's a lot to dissect.
The game wasn't the eye-bleeding spectacle we envisaged it might be. Whether this was down to Simeone mellowing after so long in the job (it certainly didn't look like it on the touchline) or more to do with the fact they didn't take the lead in the game, who knows? If they had gone a goal ahead, then the match might have descended into desperate levels of gamesmanship. Fortunately, that never became the case.
There is now a genuine fear factor associated with playing us. Simeone opted for dropping his small in stature talisman Griezmann for the 6'5ft Sorloth. The reasoning was threefold. Firstly, he was scared to death of our pressing. We don't think they tried to play out from the back once. Starting the tall Norwegian meant they could play longer and try to bypass the press. Secondly, he figured it would help them more on set pieces in both boxes. Thirdly, out of possession, he was supposed to stop Zubimendi. We can easily make the case that ZERO of the tactics worked.
It would have been inconceivable not so long ago that the great Simeone and Atleti would rock up to our gaffe and change their personnel and way of playing because of our fear factor, but last night was proof, if ever was needed, that we are scaring top teams to absolute death before the match has even begun.
Arteta delivered a masterclass at halftime. We've always said that 50% of a manager's job is how he can react and influence in real time. A perfect example was Declan Rice. Anonymous for 45 minutes, then BOOM. A small tactical tweak of playing him just a little further forward, and he was immense second half.
Which brings us nicely on to our next point. Have you ever noticed how our players all cover for each other and pull the slack? Again, talking about Rice's quiet first half. You know who wasn't quite? Saka. An absolute terror for the first 45 minutes doing typical Bukayo 'tings. In the second half, he goes on a coffee break, and Declan pulls up his socks like "I got this, bruh " It points to a collective awareness that is rare. It's amazing to watch. We are blessed right now.
Next, we have some stats. You like stats? You want some? Okay, how about this? We haven't conceded a goal at home in the new-look Champions League phase since its inception last season. Nine games played, twenty-six goals scored, ZERO conceded. ZERO. The so-called elite of European football can't score at The Carpet. Even last night, Atleti had one shot on target. Their only real threat came from a rare David Raya error first half, where Alvarez maybe should have scored and second half, again with Alvarez's long-range shot hitting the bar (thanks to a Gabriel deflection). That was it. This from a team that has battered Los Blancos 5-2 in La Liga and in the Champions League stuffed five past Frankfurt and should have got a least a point at Anfield, scoring twice in the process.
You want another stat? We are the first side in Champions League history to win seven consecutive games against Spanish opposition, and that includes Real Madrid twice, Bilbao away and now Atleti at home. Hardly cake walk material.
We aren't huge XG stat guys here at Arsenal Legion, but it can be a useful gauging tool. Since our opening day win at Old Trafford, we have yet to have an XG against us over 1. Pretty remarkable. That's not even a stat. It's more of a warning to teams that trying is futile.
Yet we still had people after the Liverpool defeat calling Arteta a fraud. Lots of tweets expressing some extremely bad takes have been deleted since then; we can assure you of that.
We couldn't talk about the game and not mention Set Piece F.C. Another two goals arrived via a corner and a free kick. Arteta was absolutely correct in his post-match presser when it was put to him about the number of goals currently being scored from set pieces, like it was easy. His answer? "Why isn't everyone else doing it?" Mic Drop. He is, of course, 100% spot on. Always remember that the haters are angrier at the fact that their team can't score from set pieces (cough Liverpool cough) rather than the frequency that we find the back of the net from them.
We'll leave this image below from last night, along with our answer from our Fulham review to the doom merchants saying we score a lot from set pieces, like it's an insult, and then we'll move on.
"What we are saying to our opponents is we'll score on you with highly choreographed movement you've spent all week practising how not to concede from."
This is Gabriel last night, getting marked by HALF OF THE ATLETI TEAM at a set piece. This is Gabriel, who exited the game with a goal and an assist. From set pieces.
Now for some back slaps here at Legion. There are a couple more quotes from our Fulham review we'd like to remind you all of.
Quote one - "You know what else isn't sustainable? A team chock full of attacking talent not scoring from open play. We are going to give someone an absolute hammering sooner rather than later"
Quote two - "We think Gyokeres is soon going to go on a tear and fill the net regularly. We see it. Not everybody else might, and that's okay"
Stick with us, readers. We here at Legion Towers aren't just pretty faces. We do, hopefully, more times than not, have a feel for our football club.
So what about our star performers on a night where there were more than a few candidates? First, our honourable mentions.
After our main pic and intro, we couldn't not mention the dynamic duo of Gabriel and Gyokeres, who were responsible for three of our four goals. We also said after Fulham that Viktor needed one to just go in the net any which way, and what happens? A scruffier goal you aren't likely to see all season lifts the weight off his shoulders, and BANG, he scores again three minutes later with a real poacher's type goal. Amazing how the mental side of the game plays such a huge part.
We'd also, before naming the MOTM, have to give a shout-out to our squad depth. MLS was terrific last night, and his run/pass for the Martinelli goal (3 goals in 3 Champions League games for him, by the way) was world-class. Now we don't yet know about Hincapie levels, but if he's as good as people say, then MLS might actually be our third-best left back. How SCARY is that? That's not even squad depth, that's an embarrassment of riches.
Yes, Saka and Rice both had good 45's, but this guy ran the show for the 90 minutes. Somehow, he managed to be that good that he snared the MOTM without a goal or assist to his name. If Sorloth was supposed to be stopping him from dictating the game, then he failed. Miserably.
Zubi's a bit like Timber in that we could say the same things about him every week. Never has a bad game, always dropping at least 7/8 out of 10's. This is from a new signing, let's not forget, in a pivotal (ahem, excuse the pun) area of the team. He has great defensive instincts, never loses the ball or duels and with Arteta pushing him to be more aggressive in his passing range, you can see the improvement in that regard since day one at Old Trafford.
Yes, he picked up a booking, but I watched the match with my bro and predicted that would happen five minutes in. He now misses Slavia Prague instead of risking missing Bayern of the Munchens. Tactical and deliberate yellow? We would never suggest such a thing!
Next up is Palace at The Carpet on Sunday, who have the joys of Europa League Thursdays on their calendar for entertainment. They seem to have hit a wall since the late Liverpool victory (cheers, Eddie), with a loss and a draw in their last two league games.
We'll see you either Friday or Saturday with the preview for that one. Enjoy the rest of your winning week, Legion.