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Gab Marcotti is here to recap a busy, dramatic weekend in soccer. Welcome to Monday Musings.
Jump to: Arsenal’s errors at Liverpool | Real still a mess | Spurs’ Eriksen problem | Refs wreck Fiorentina vs. Napoli? | PSG need Neymar | More Man United woe | Mihajlovic is inspiring | Lewandowski carries Bayern | Griezmann the hero for Barca | Business as usual for Juve | Milan’s epic fail
What Arsenal got wrong vs. Liverpool
Unai Emery’s resume is what will likely get him a pass for what Arsenal fans saw on Saturday. A decade at the highest level with Valencia, Seville and Paris Saint-Germain, often succeeding because of his tactical nous and his ability to read opponents and exploit their weaknesses, means that you want to give the benefit of the doubt. But having watched the approach to Liverpool away at Anfield, it’s a tough thing to do.
It’s not just the midfield diamond that ceded the flanks to Jurgen Klopp’s crew (who, for those not paying attention, have two pretty darn good providers in Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold). Nor was it the decision to try to keep possession without Lucas Torreira, your second-best passer. Nor was it the insistence on playing out from the back against arguably the best high-press team in the Premier League, just a week after another high-press team, Burnley, had given them fits. And, for that matter, neither was it the reluctance to occasionally mix in the long ball (the two times they did it, it worked well) when you have speedy forwards like Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Nicolas Pepe.
It’s that it’s really difficult to figure out what pathway Emery sees towards success at Arsenal.
There’s nothing wrong with adding Dani Ceballos for a season in midfield, but if you’re trying to build something, do you really want everything to hinge so heavily around a guy who’s there on loan? And given that it’s hard to find a natural home for Mesut Ozil and Henrikh Mkhitaryan in the setups he has used this season, is it really wise to write them off at this stage?
Arsenal finished two points away from third place last season in Emery’s first Premier League campaign. They may well hit the target this season, or come close to it, but that has more to do with issues elsewhere. The real goal has to be reducing the 27 points that separated them from Liverpool in second. It’s not clear at all that Saturday did that.
– Weekend Review: Are Tottenham getting stale?
– O’Hanlon: Should we be worried about “superteam” Man City?
– Jones: Sheffield United prove heart can beat talent
As for the European champions, they played with big-game vitality and intensity as Klopp opted to turn in one of his extreme high-press performances. I’m not sure how often we’ll see that from him this season. It’s extremely taxing on the front men and the midfielders, which is why, incidentally, you should expect more rotation in the middle of the park this year. Not to mention the fact that you’re always vulnerable to the ball over the top or teams with enough quality to break the press wide open.
All that said, in one-offs and for shorter spurts during games, it remains a devastating weapon.
Real Madrid still a mess
Against Valladolid, Real Madrid managed to field not just an entire XI without newcomers, but also one where every outfield player was on the club’s books since at least 2014. Sure, Eden Hazard is injured (and you assume they’ll make room for him when fit) but apart from two Luka Jovic substitute appearances, we haven’t seen any of the four new signings. Instead, we’re seeing plenty of James Rodriguez and Gareth Bale, two guys with giant “For Sale” tags around their necks for most of the summer.
Zinedine Zidane is doing things his way, and to be fair, the Pep Guardiola-style 4-1-4-1 we saw in the first half Saturday is worth revisiting. Less impressive was the late collapse that left two points on the table. And the fact that Valladolid’s equaliser was scored by a guy named Guardiola (Sergi, no relation, although he was once on Barca’s books), makes it hurt a little bit more.
I made this point before but it’s worth making again: no clean sheets and two points dropped after two games does not mean Real Madrid absolutely need to sign Neymar. Their four new signings have played a total of 34 minutes, and they’re already stacked in Neymar’s position. (What’s more, Zidane is getting those guys on the pitch.)
There may be a price/package at which Neymar makes sense, but most likely, there isn’t.
Tottenham’s Eriksen problem
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Shaka Hislop weighs in on Jamaal Lascelles’ challenge on Harry Kane that wasn’t given as a penalty, in Tottenham’s 1-0 loss to Newcastle.
Tottenham knew what they were getting when Newcastle United rolled into town. They were taking on an embattled veteran manager who had lost his first two games and was getting criticised locally. No prizes for guessing what Steve Bruce was going to do: sit deep with a virtual 7-2-1 formation and pray for the best.
So why take the pitch without Giovani Lo Celso and Christian Eriksen, arguably Spurs’ two best creative passers? Beats me.
Mauricio Pochettino’s negativity over Eriksen and his contractual situation — he recently called it “difficult” and said he “didn’t know” if the Dane had played his last game for the club — is understandable to some degree, and you can find some sympathy too. But equally, that’s not a reason to bench him or, for that matter, Jan Vertonghen, the guy who was (and maybe still is?) Tottenham’s vice-captain until last season.
You can blame the media for many things but there are legitimate questions to answer about the club’s strategy and the degree of freedom which Pochettino has — or maybe doesn’t have — as manager.
Refs ruin Fiorentina vs. Napoli?
After the wild Magic Mountain ride that was Napoli’s 4-3 win away to Fiorentina in Serie A’s curtain-raiser, the last thing you want to do is talk referees. But that crew, particularly with the…
Read more at this link (News Source).
