World Football's Monday Morning Hangover: Arsenal Away Day to Remember
Welcome to world football's Monday Morning Hangover, an homage to the NFL section's own Monday Morning Hangover, in which we round up the key stories and important points from the last weekend in world football.
With an inevitable focus on the Premier League, let's get started.
Arsenal Find a Better Way to Play Away
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For one weekend only, down was up and up was down in the Premier League. Centre-back Phil Jones took a corner, Fabio Borini (and Rickie Lambert!) scored a goal, and Arsenal produced an away performance reminiscent of Chelsea at their best to beat Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium.
It was bizarro weekend in the Premier League, to borrow a concept from Seinfeld. It is a shame Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger did not wear his long jacket on the bench at the Etihad—the way the rest of the weekend went, he would have almost certainly been able to do the zip up at the first attempt.
So often an embarrassment on their travels against the teams around them in the league, Arsenal produced a brilliantly disciplined, refined performance to win, 2-0, against the reigning champions.
A slightly fortuitous early penalty, in the sense they might have struggled to make the breakthrough without the spot-kick—not that it was not definitely a foul—gave them the advantage before Olivier Giroud's header midway through the second half sealed the points.
Arsenal's David Ospina, starting his first away Premier League game, was slightly suspect under the high ball on occasions. But the defence was magnificently organised throughout, while Francis Coquelin—on loan in the Championship barely a month ago—made countless vital interceptions to ease the pressure from his position as the midfield anchor.
The star of the show, however, was Santi Cazorla, who scored the penalty and then proceeded to dominate the game, hassling David Silva when he did not have the ball and consistently relieving the pressure on his side with his movement and passing when he did. With the work rate of Alexis Sanchez, and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain on the wings as well as Giroud putting himself about while leading the line, Jose Mourinho would have been nodding in approval at what he was seeing.
Cazorla did a little jig after providing the assist for Giroud's clincher, which summed up an afternoon on which the Gunners finally seemed to throw off the self-imposed shackles they've worn in these contests recently, instead playing with a winning discipline and precise decision-making that was tough to compete with.
"He is fantastic because he gets you out of pressure in very tight situations and finds openings that are interesting," Wenger said when asked about Man of the Match Cazorla after the game, per The Independent's Andy Hampson. "He shows you as well how important it is to be two-footed in the middle of the park. Left and right-footed, I think it is a vital quality for a midfielder today."
There were mitigating circumstances for City, albeit only to an extent (when you've spent that much over the years, you forfeit your right to most excuses). City keenly felt the absences of Yaya Toure and Samir Nasri, while Sergio Aguero and Vincent Kompany were clearly not quite fit enough for a game of this stature.
Aguero was an inconsistent presence in the game, while Kompany looked a crucial yard off the pace as he gave away the penalty and was booked for a second foul soon after. This was not the City we expected to see, but that does not detract from what Arsenal did to punish them.
City still had Silva, after all, but Arsenal correctly deduced that the home side would try to channel everything through him—so they let him receive the ball away from goal before swarming him with pressure, robbing him of the chance to pose any real threat on numerous occasions.
That left Fernando and Fernandinho with a bit more space, the visitors correctly gambling that those two more workmanlike midfielders would lack the vision and grace required to pick them apart.
Kompany's foul on Nacho Monreal, bundling the Spaniard over cynically as he tried to run onto a one-two in the box, was every bit as accurate a summary of City's evening as Cazorla's jig was of Arsenal's; the Belgian, like his team, was not quite able to match the pace of the game and consequently made the wrong decisions at key moments.
For Manuel Pellegrini, it was the sort of game he couldn't really make too many excuses for in the aftermath. City just weren't very good, nothing more bizarre than that. As he said, per the aforementioned Independent article:
"With the ball we didn't have clear ideas. I think we didn't play a good game.
We ran a lot and had a lot of possession, but we didn't have creative ideas to try and find the space against a team that defend very well. ...
The game we must play at Stamford Bridge is a very important game. We must close the gap to two points. I hope we are going to recover and play the way we have been playing so far.
"
Wenger, in contrast, will be hoping this is the start of many similar away performances—and results—to come. Time will tell.
Chelsea's Swans Statement Gets Better with Age
Some things don't change, of course—there's a reason Pellegrini said the upcoming game against Chelsea is now a must-win. A little over 24 hours before City played, Chelsea thoroughly eviscerated Swansea City in Wales, scoring four goals inside the first 40 minutes before ultimately clinching a 5-0 win.
Willian also hit the post twice in that first-half salvo. It really was a dominant performance from Mourinho's men, and one that eventually left them with a restored five-point lead at the top of the table. With a win against City at the end of the month, that lead will be eight. It could be game over as far as the title race is concerned.
"It was very good, we were solid, we were recovering the ball in good positions, we were dangerous in counter-attacks, the decisions made in front of the ball were always the best decisions," Mourinho said afterward, per Sky Sports. "We hit the post twice, we could have finished with even more. I am happy with the points and the quality of our football."
Swansea manager Garry Monk, in contrast, apologised to his side's supporters on Twitter, admitting that the Swans had not been good enough:
In truth, however, there was not a great deal his side could have done (although Swansea had a hand in one or two of the goals).
The Blues were humming along brilliantly from the off, with Oscar and Willian looking every bit as threatening as Diego Costa, as Cesc Fabregas pulled all the strings behind them. Eden Hazard was almost lost in the mix, even though only a couple of fine saves from Lukasz Fabianski kept the Belgian from adding his name to the scoresheet.
It was a statement performance, and one only enhanced by events in Manchester a day later.
Goal of the Weekend
Take a bow, Marco Fabian.
Goal of the Weekend: Runner-Up Edition
"Golazo de Messi HAT TRICK https://t.co/ennj4EXkKC
— La Liga Nueva (@LaLigaNueva) January 18, 2015"
Juventus' Paul Pogba seems to be finding a place in this section every week.
Random Asides
- Bojan Krkic continued his fine season with the winning goal as Stoke City gained a valuable three points against Leicester City. The forward's renaissance is one of the most impressive, unlikely stories of the season; after falling short at Barcelona, Roma and then Ajax, he has found his feet under Mark Hughes, thriving in perhaps the least technical league he has played in. It seems like a match made in hell on paper, but Bojan has thrived in England.
- Since losing to Manchester United in the middle of December, Liverpool have won four and drawn two of their next six games. They have flown under the radar slightly, but that is an impressive turnaround—especially considering Daniel Sturridge is still to return from a thigh injury. On Saturday, Borini and Lambert got the goals. The weekend before it was Lazar Markovic. Brendan Rodgers has turned things around on the training ground, and he deserves huge credit for that—even if there is still a fair bit of work still to do.
- While Liverpool are thriving, Aston Villa continue to flounder, with Paul Lambert's attack often looking stuck in the mud. The game against Liverpool was no different: The introduction of new signing Carles Gil offered a hint at encouraging signs to come, but in general, the Villans lacked any tangible goal threat. Eleven goals in 22 league games is a shambolic effort—in fact, it is the second-worst in Europe's top five leagues at present. Villa's defensive effort is keeping them afloat at the moment (it is the fifth-best in the league), but it is difficult to sustain that for an entire season. Lambert needs to find an answer in the final third—and very quickly.
- Two Premier League games, two come-from-behind victories for Alan Pardew and Crystal Palace. After beating Tottenham Hotspur last weekend, this was an even more impressive recovery, with the Eagles coming from 2-0 down (after a little more than 15 minutes) against Burnley to win 3-2. Pardew has clearly been an upgrade on Neil Warnock for his ability to change games with his tactics, if nothing else. Palace face Everton, Leicester and Newcastle United in their next three games—nine points from those would take Palace to 32 overall—just eight from that magical 40-point barrier. Two weeks ago, that yardstick felt a million miles away (as it still does for Burnley).
- For the fourth time this season, Christian Eriksen scored a late goal to snatch Tottenham a 2-1 win. In all four games, he also covered the most ground of any player, proving he does far more than just pop up late on to steal the headlines. With Arsenal, Southampton, West Ham United and Liverpool all winning, Spurs had to triumph to keep pace in the Champions League race. Eriksen has contributed eight points in such circumstances. Considering that, the Dane might quickly be becoming a worthy candidate for Player of the Year consideration.
- The fine margins at this level were in evidence when Hull City faced West Ham at Upton Park. Up until half-time, Hull were competitive, albeit let down by their lack of a recognised out-and-out striker, as Sone Aluko wasted a number of great chances (many of which he created himself). In the second half, however, Hull City's Curtis Davies—a player surely high on West Ham manager's Sam Allardyce's list of candidates to replace Winston Reid, especially if Hull end up being relegated this season—switched off for one second, and Andy Carroll scored, changing the complexion of the match. West Ham cantered to a 3-0 victory and continued their European push, while Hull remained mired at the bottom. At this level, every second counts.
Good Week, Bad Week
Good Week
- Dwight Gayle: How vital could his two goals at Turf Moor be come the end of the season for Crystal Palace?
- Fabio Borini: His Liverpool career has seemingly been over twice, yet he's still there—and now scoring goals, too.
- Francis Coquelin: Playing in the Championship as recently as December, he was a vital part of a winning Arsenal team at the Etihad.
- Oscar: The Brazilian has been producing goals and assists at a very high level in recent weeks.
- Eljero Elia: He's taking to the Premier League like a duck to water and had two lovely finishes in Southampton's 2-1 win over Newcastle.
- Jose Mourinho: Sunday must have been very enjoyable for the Portuguese—perhaps even more so than Saturday.
Bad Week
- Juan Mata: The Spaniard was anonymous at Loftus Road and removed from the fray at half-time. Not great for nearly £40 million.
- Harry Redknapp: Defeat was slightly harsh on his side but nevertheless tips him closer to the sack.
- Aston Villa: No invention plus no shots equals no goals and no hope. These are dire times at Villa Park.
- Yannick Sagbo: An injury crisis up front at Hull and you still don't start? Bad news for Sagbo's future.
- John Carver: His hopes of getting the Newcastle job full time are slowly slipping away.
- Jermain Defoe: Defoe recorded just five passes on his Sunderland debut, per WhoScored, which hardly kills the sense he's returned to EPL far past his peak.
Other Points of Note
United's Clamp Down on Corners
Louis van Gaal must have missed the memo, but central defenders are not allowed to take corners. That must be the case, considering the general amusement and, in some cases, criticism that emerged when Jones popped up to take a Manchester United corner against Queens Park Rangers on Saturday.
Van Gaal may have based his move on a certain logic—Wayne Rooney has not exactly provided chance after chance from such situations this season, while making Jones take it may well have played havoc with the man-marking assignments the QPR defenders had. But it still looked brilliantly odd, especially as Van Gaal also had to take chants from the visiting supporters at Loftus Road, who were calling for a return to 4-4-2.
Van Gaal, who started with his preferred 3-5-2, eventually switched to a flat back four (although whether it was a 4-4-2 remains debatable) and United broke the deadlock almost immediately. They eventually won, 2-0, shelving those jokes about Jones' corners for another week at least.
Van Gaal said, per Stuart Mathieson the Manchester Evening News:
"I have to look at the players and I have to communicate with the players and observe the players.
I cannot observe the fans because how many fans do Manchester United have? All over the world we’ve got over 600 million. You cannot take into account 600 million opinions.
I have to look at the players, to communicate with the players, to observe, to analyse and so on. That’s my job as a manager.
"
Saints Keep Finding New Strengths
Nothing seems to be going wrong for Southampton, who continued their fine season with a 2-1 win at Newcastle on Saturday evening. New signing Eljero Elia scored both goals, which almost sums up the Midas touch manager Ronald Koeman seems to have. The Dutchman has hardly been able to kick a ball in the right direction for two years, yet he rocks up at St Mary's and immediately makes his mark.
The win was impressive for other reasons, with James Ward-Prowse virtually playing as a second striker and Harrison Reed belying his years in the holding role.
Over recent years, the Southampton academy has seemingly produced players in every position bar goalkeeper. And not just that, but it's churned out players capable of playing multiple positions. That speaks to the footballing education the academy players receive more than just the physical gifts they may have been naturally blessed with.
It was Elia's goals that kept the Saints rolling, with Koeman suggesting afterward that the winger just needs to feel loved. If only it was always so easy!
"Yes, I hope [Elia can retain his form]," Koeman said, per the Daily Mail. He continued:
"If he keeps his concentration on football. He’s doing well, he’s showing a lot of discipline.
It was a long, difficult week. Three games away but if you win you gain confidence, spirit. It was great to beat [Manchester] United but, as a manager, the win today is better because it’s the third [away] game and we were without key players.
"
Monday Night Football
We could talk about how Everton need a win to build on their improved performance against Manchester City or that West Bromwich Albion need something to keep the momentum going under Tony Pulis, but instead we will talk about what is due to happen at half-time in this game.
During the break in play, there are plans to film footage for the latest Rocky film, called Creed because it follows Adonis Creed, son of Rocky Balboa's nemesis-turned-friend Apollo Creed (if you are not a Rocky fan, you might as well end your MMH reading experience here). Creed Jr. is trained by Rocky, while his opponent will be played by real-life boxer Tony Bellew—who is an Everton fan.
It seems safe to assume the fighter's football allegiance will carry over to his character, with cameras on hand at Goodison to tape some reaction footage for the big film. Rumour has it that Sylvester Stallone himself (a Toffees fan) might be there, although Bellew will not.
"I would like you to stay in your seats at half-time and keep any eye on the big screens for a very special guest to make a welcome return to Goodison Park."
Be sure you make as much noise as possible — go absolutely nuts at half-time — to help us create a brilliant atmosphere. I have seen first-hand what kind of noise Evertonians create – it will be perfect for the scene.
