Arsenal ‘running out of steam’ and ‘missing’ one surprise player, but will be delighted with VAR fix

Editor F365
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta argues with the officials

Arsenal are ‘running out of steam’ atop the Premier League. No wonder when Folarin Balogun is not there and VAR isn’t operated by former (male) players.

 

Steam building
Mark Irwin quite enjoyed using the phrase ‘soft touch’ in his Sun match report from the Emirates. It’s been a while since the chief Arsenal sceptic was able to play his favourite role:

‘Arteta has selected the same team so many times this season that he must be able to do it with his eyes closed by now.

‘Seven of his players have started every Premier League game this season and skipper Martin Odegaard has only missed one.

‘But that predictably could be making it easier for opponents to plan ways of stopping them in their tracks.’

Let’s assume Irwin meant to suggest the ‘predictability’ in Arsenal’s team selection has become their potential downfall. And there is an argument to be had about whether rotation is required to keep players fresh and rested. But the idea that they have been figured out by opponents in some way is ludicrous.

Silly manager, picking his best players in their best formation. Everyone knows the best time to change things up is after accruing 50 points from a possible 57. Get Rob Holding and Reiss Nelson in there, man.

‘It means Arsenal have failed to win any of their last three games and are suddenly starting to look as though they might be running out of steam,’ he adds, roping in the FA Cup defeat to a full-strength Manchester City side in a match Arteta used to rest a number of key players.

They lost at a reinvigorated Everton and drew against a really very, very good Brentford side. At least give it a couple more games before accusing them of ‘running out of steam’.

 

Ollie day
Martin Blackburn of The Sun was on duty at the Etihad and wrote this:

‘Bernardo Silva carelessly lost possession in the middle of the park and Doulgas Luiz – once on City’s books – played Ollie Watkins through.

‘The former Brentford forward loves playing against City and finished calmly past Ederson to score against them for a sixth time – and give his team a glimmer of hope.’

Pesky fact: Ollie Watkins has scored against Manchester City twice. He’s played against them six times. And never once beaten the team he ‘loves playing against’.

 

Don’t mention the VAR
The VAR-fuelled rage is positively dripping from Mike Walters of the Daily Mirror. His article ticks all the necessary boxes: complaining about ‘some jobsworth in a bunker’; lamenting how we used to ‘debate borderline decisions down the pub’; saying the only thing ‘clear and obvious’ about VAR is how it’s a bit shit. It’s all textbook stuff.

But this is something else:

‘If we must put up with this plague, let’s have people who know what they are doing in charge of the control panels – former players who have been round the block and know all the tricks.’

Yes f**king please. Let’s have Massimo Taibi drawing the offside lines. Get Salif Diao mulling over potential red cards. Former footballers are literally the only people who could possibly implement the laws of the game and definitely not mess it all up. They ‘have been round the block and know all the tricks’ after all. It is foolproof.

 

Male order
And as official confirmation of a really quite silly opinion, here comes Joey Barton…

Lovely touch to add the ‘male’ bit. Former professional footballers who happen to also be female would obviously just randomly mash all the buttons on those Stockley Park computers, so overwhelmed would they be with all that technology and responsibility.

 

 

Draw handles
Dave Kidd of The Sun had a chat with Scott Parker ahead of his debut as a Champions League manager – and Mediawatch particularly enjoyed this description of Club Brugge’s form since the Englishman’s appointment.

‘We meet at the club’s elite-level training base, after a frustrating run of draws have hampered his first six weeks in Belgium’s Jupiler League.’

Another way of putting that ‘frustrating run of draws’ is to point out Club Brugge have won one of seven games since Parker came in, at which point they were 12 points behind leaders Genk but are now 20 off the pace.

Great get to secure the interview though.

 

Losing the Will to live
‘You wonder what Chelsea – the team Ferrell supports – will have to say about his attendance given the boardroom fractions at the moment’ – Jack Gaughan, Daily Mail.

You might. Normal people will not.

 

Pressure, pushing down on me
‘Jesse Marsch is a shock contender to make an instant return to the Premier League at Southampton – just a week after being sacked by Leeds.

‘Saints are considering the American after bowing to fan pressure by sacking Nathan Jones yesterday.’

‘After bowing to fan pressure’ is a weird way of putting ‘because Southampton are 20th, four points from safety, have lost nine of their last 10 Premier League games and Nathan Jones kept saying weird things‘.

Bloody fans and their pressure, eh?

 

Bebe driver
‘Ex-Utd star shows fans what they’re missing as he scores screamer for new club’ – The Sun website.

Are third-placed Man Utd, two points behind Manchester City and five off Arsenal, really ‘missing’ Bebe? Marcus ’13 goals in 15 games since the World Cup’ Rashford is clearly struggling.

 

On that note…
‘Folarin Balogun scores AGAIN to show Mikel Arteta exactly what he’s missing at Arsenal’ – Daily Mirror website.

Are first-placed Arsenal, three points clear of Manchester City and the second-highest scorers in the entire Premier League, really missing an obviously very good striker who would not have played for them had he not gone out on loan?

Mediawatch