Advertisement

Premier League Review - Arsenal surprise everyone including themselves

Arsenal can ignore valid criticisms after success, but not forever

Arsenal were as brilliant against Manchester United as they were witless and gutless against Olympiacos. They were strong, powerful, clever and resilient. They took control of the match and they didn’t ever give that up. Alexis Sanchez is approaching Sergio Aguero as his only real rival for best player in the league this season, and even if he falls clearly short, he remains the second best by an impressive distance. The question is, after a decade of inconsistency, occasionally hitting these heights, where is blame apportioned? Are these players cheating their manager, failing to stick to the performances they are evidently capable of? Or is Arsene Wenger cheating the club, not keeping his players to the standards that are required, and achievable when they put the work in?

For now, it doesn’t matter. This match was a triumph, a fantastic retort to midweek misery, and a total bossing of the previous league leaders, however limited they are. Now is the time to finally not throw away the chance to do something that matters.

How miserable can Manchester United make things from here?

For Manchester United, it was the same as ever. The squad is thin, and Wayne Rooney is the very worst player in the squad at the moment, and it’s fair to wonder if he is also the worst player in the league. In two months, it might be worth measuring his worth against any player in the country, and he is on course to be the worst human in the world at football in 2016. We will surely find out at Euro 2016, because he will be picked regardless of whatever he does.

As for Michael Carrick, it appears he is now back to one of his useless periods, which seem to stretch ever longer, but take in anything between three months or two years, and the defence is lacking a mature, commanding centre-half. Putting Marouane Fellaini on for Morgan Schneiderlin are daft. Louis van Gaal’s daft substitutions, and dafter indulgence of the wretched Rooney, could be the two things that cost him his job, if his cavalier approach to actually buying enough players doesn’t first.

Today was a real opportunity to take a step towards refound confidence with enough to build on from the first few games in the league, but Van Gaal’s choices made sure that chances were severely limited - though the players hardly helped him.

Mourinho struggling with uncharted territory

Chelsea were terrible. They were unfortunate not to get a Radamel Falcao penalty at an important time, but Sadio Mane - despite his similarly committed exaggeration - also deserved a penalty for Southampton. It was not conspiracy that stopped Chelsea winning yesterday, it was their own incompetence.

Jose Mourinho’s side was sluggish, almost impossibly so across the side. Neither Cesar Azpilicueta or Branislav Ivanovic offer the same attacking threat as last season, and neither offers the assistance in defence they did in 2014/15. The central defence is a wreck, with Gary Cahill too timid and unsure to carry Kurt Zouma’s inexperience or John Terry’s alarming decline.

Cesc Fabregas, rumoured to have a chronic groin injury, and Nemanja Matic, playing like he definitely does have a chronic groin injury, are not helped by having the limited but currently unenthused Ramires alongside them. The front three creators of Willian, Oscar and Eden Hazard have no intention to positively influence those around them. Looking ahead of them, they see Falcao and wonder what the point is, why Loic Remy can’t play as he did before he joined them, or where Diego Costa’s mojo has gone. It’s all very well being supremely irritating, but he’s picked to score goals more than anything else.

Mourinho quite ridiculously and improperly picked a public fight with his club doctors, and has also now turned the blame towards his players, hinting that younger squad members will now get their chance to take over first team duties. There’s ill will behind the scenes, between players, board, staff and manager, it’s not yet in the open how exactly it is festering. But it is there.

Mourinho has dealt with stresses and combative atmospheres before, in his first time at Chelsea, at Inter Milan and especially at Real Madrid, but his side’s never self-combusted as quickly or disarmingly as Chelsea have so far. He has also blamed himself, as part of a pre-match conference and in a rambling but enjoyable seven-minute response to a single post-match television interview. He has never yet been here, and all his old tricks haven’t worked. This is, as Mourinho has said before, the first time he has tried something new in his career. He originally meant building a legacy, but now it seems it’s turning around a crisis.

Crystal Palace enjoying the traditional Pardew bounce

It is tempting to believe that Alan Pardew’s biggest fan is Alan Pardew, given that he willingly wears thick-rimmed glasses and says the things that he says. But at Crystal Palace he probably has the club’s fans just as enthused by his presence as he is. After their win against West Brom, Palace found themselves in third place, and Wilfried Zaha, Yohan Cabaye and Yannick Bolasie appear to be one of the most threatening midfields in the Premier League, certainly outside of the big four.

Pardew has always been able to produce efficient sides, often with no little creativity, but he has often found it difficult to turn around severe losses in form. He managed it at Newcastle because he was given an unusually easy time of it by the owner, Mike Ashley. At West Ham, he failed. Right now Palace are on their way up, well organised, with a trademark Pardew threat from set pieces, but more than that Pardew has a group with a promising mixture of youth and experience ahead of the defence, but all with better-than-average quality. If they were to add a more dangerous striker to the side, they could become yet more enjoyable.

Pellegrini right to give Aguero extra time off

Sergio Aguero’s five goals might only have proved that he is only half as good Robert Lewandowski, but that sets him well ahead of every other striker in the Premier League. It was only Newcastle, but five goals against any opposition is some feat. Aguero was removed by Manuel Pellegrini before he could add his sixth, to the disappointment of people in their bedrooms or sitting in the pub, staring wistfully at their Fantasy League teams.

It would have been frustrating, but it was the right decision. Although the international break is coming up, Aguero will have a fair distance to travel, and has never had the most resilient body. Giving him any time off is the wise choice for City, and for the rest of the season. Given the pitiful display by some of his team-mates before this stroll to three points, Pellegrini presumably assumes Aguero might be relied upon to take City to the league as his biggest rivals slump to the bottom half.

Liverpool and Brendan Rodgers weigh up sticking or twisting

When Liverpool visited Everton with Luis Suarez, things were different. Hopes were higher and Brendan Rodgers was better regarded. On Sunday, Everton started the match if not quite as favourites, but with reason to believe that they could win. This ended up as the sixth of the last seven matches between the sides that ended up a draw.

Roberto Martinez and Rodgers were largely irrelevant, and neither side displayed any quality. The goals came from poor defending and strikers on hand to make the most of an easy chance. Apart from that, there were plenty of poor passes, tackles, and a late flurry of yellow cards. It was the usual derby between two mediocre sides: only interesting if you supported either side.

Rodgers enters the international break with no great spike in sentiment to save his job. It was more of the same, another tactical change bringing no improvement anywhere in the pitch, and a defence made up of total mediocrity. Had he lost then the board would almost certainly have been brought forward, as it is, he is just there, existing at Liverpool for no real reason. Like both the Merseyside clubs are so far this season.