Before the game I had a feeling we might sneak something out of it, but that was something that came to me in a dream… Nilson Angulo, off the bench, nicked a winner, Djibril Cissé versus Spurs style. Alas, what happened couldn’t have been further from the truth, but there’s nowt wrong with dreaming.
Instead, we were treated to a 3-0 defeat, but I thought the scoreline flattered Arsenal.
For large portions of the game, I felt we battled harder than our hosts did and, when in possession, we looked after
the ball well. Brian Brobbey up top bullied Saliba in particular, who should have been sent off for persistent fouling. The fact that he only got booked for one of them — a foul on Noah Sadiki — shows how Brobbey is being refereed differently from other players.
On the ref… was it just me or was he absolutely terrible? I thought he should have given a penalty to us for a foul by Zubimendi on Ballard, but in general, he just did a bad job of officiating the game. If Saliba or Calafiori walk for two yellows, which they quite easily could have, and we get a penalty, it’s a slightly different game… maybe.
You might think I’m clutching at straws, but when the game was still close, these moments mattered.
In the end, Arsenal showed why they are going to win the Premier League and will probably win other trophies too. They didn’t even have to play particularly well because they have so much quality, and they punished us for the very few mistakes we made. The first goal was an exquisite finish from Zubimendi, and the pass from Trossard for their second was genuinely world-class. Hats off, Arsenal, you are very good at football.
Unlike after Brentford and West Ham, I don’t really feel deflated today. I actually feel quite positive based on the majority of what I saw, and I think that if we apply ourselves like we did today against Liverpool, we’ll probably beat them.
It’s important we don’t lose our heads after today, because there won’t have been many teams that have gone to the Emirates this season and given Arsenal a battle as tough as that. Just got to take your licks and move on.
