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Morning all.
I’m still basking a bit after the derby win. Not just because we won and they lost, but because this game ticked a lot of boxes for me. Things I love to see from my team.
The word togetherness can often come across as a bit cliched or hackneyed, because it’s something almost every manager talks about. It’s something they all strive for, something they all want, but making it happen isn’t as easy as ‘Come on lads!’. It takes time and effort. You have to make tough decisions along the way. Not everyone will be ‘on the boat’, as Mikel Arteta said, and while it sounds harsh, those guys have to walk the metaphorical plank.
In yesterday’s blog I talked about how the three points were earned on the back of our defensive strength, and while our back four is obviously very impressive, it starts at the front. I love defending. I love a team that can really do it. I love players who are obsessed with denying the opposition anything. Obviously that applies most to goals, but when you can celebrate preventing a cross coming into a dangerous area, you know you’ve got the right people on board.
Sure, you’re thinking of Gabriel right now. Just the 8 clearances from him on Sunday. Followed by Kai Havertz with 5, and Thomas Partey with 4. Gabriel Martinelli and Partey with 3 tackles each, more than three of the back four. Players like Jorginho and Jurrien Timber who have had fitness issues, something Arteta spoke about afterwards:
Jorginho … when he’s not playing, he’s training like an animal at his age, after winning everything. So when you ask him to play 90 minutes, like he hasn’t played probably for the last five months, he’s able, even cramping everywhere, managed to do it. The same with Jurrien, he’s been a year out, he hasn’t played 90 minutes at all, and he was struggling today, but he managed to do it for the team.
To win a big game away from home without key players like Rice, Odegaard, plus Merino, Calafiori and…
Source link : https://arseblog.com/2024/09/martinelli-an-example-of-artetas-togetherness/
Author : arseblog
Publish date : 2024-09-17 06:22:02
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