GTECH COMMUNITY STADIUM — That’s one way to cancel a Tweet. Ivan Toney was a hostage to fortune the moment he pressed send to celebrate last season’s opening day victory over Arsenal.
Thirteen months on Toney and his Brentford team-mates met a vengeful opponent that delighted in inverting the experience. This was anything but ‘a nice kick about with the boys’ and for Toney the discomfort was exacerbated by a first call-up to the England squad that placed a premium on his performance.
Brentford were three down inside an hour as Arsenal returned to the top of the Premier League with a display that oozed style and authority. Toney was not alone in failing to impose himself, but as the man of the moment the England spotlight inevitably singled him out for special attention.
While the outcome was notionally in the balance Toney disappeared in the Bermuda Triangle framed by Gabriel, William Saliba and Thomas Partey, a towering trio that swallowed him whole. Had Toney been supplied by an opposing triangle of, say, Phil Foden, Bernardo Silva and Kevin De Bruyne, he might have had a presence in the game, if not to quite to the degree of Erling Haaland.
Or had he been feeding on the quality of cross that provided Gabriel Jesus with the opportunity to double Arsenal’s advantage he may have gained prominence. Jesus duly inverted convention by falling to his knees to pay polished tribute to the left boot of Granit Xhaka in gratitude for his pinpoint delivery.
More from Football
Son sends a message, Man City's best player, Xhaka the creator, and Fulham's midfield monster19 September, 2022
Ratings as Maupay nets first Everton goal but England hopefuls Gordon and Bowen struggle18 September, 2022
Jesus pays tribute to Vinicius Jr and Vieira scores stunner - ratings as Arsenal beat Brentford18 September, 2022The current reference point for centre forward play is, of course, Haaland. In the absence of the golden supply chain from which he benefits it is incumbent on Toney to forage more, to find space, to gain possession in unfamiliar positions in the manner, perhaps, of England skipper Harry Kane.
Somewhere in between the schools of Haaland and Kane sits Jesus, who terrorises with his eel-like movement, pace and energy, always at defenders with and without the ball. Toney has settled well into his second season as a Premier League footballer, the hat-trick against Leeds United in the previous home game seemingly rubber-stamping the approval of Gareth Southgate’s England selection panel.
Here he was faced with a higher degree of organisation, commitment and flair than that offered by Leeds, the kind he might expect to face against Italy or Germany. The ball moves more quickly in rarefied company and space is harder to find. Toney is 26-year-old. This is not an apprenticeship. To prevail he must deliver from the outset. There are rarely second chances.
Nice kick about with the boys.
— Gabriel Magalhaes (@biel_m04) September 18, 2022@Arsenal
Barry Fry, Peterborough’s director of football who rescued Toney from the wasteland of Newcastle, lavishes his old boy with typical hyperbolic platitudes. He can’t believe Manchester United didn’t sink millions on him in the summer. Perhaps United shared the same reservations as Steve McLaren and Rafa Benitez, Newcastle coaches Toney believes denied him a chance to shine.
Well, he has it now. This was a tough engagement for him. Manchester United struggled similarly to get the ball off Arsenal for an hour at Old Trafford but they had Marcus Rashford hinting at a meaningful return to form. Toney does not have Rashford’s pace nor his hinterland and will have to stir himself to greater heights than this if he is to resist the United striker’s revival before the World Cup squad is finalised.
There was a snapshot before half-time when he flicked the ball on, Haaland-like, to the advancing Rico Henry, and later in the same passage of play found Bryan Mbueno with a raking cross. There were other episodic flashes demonstrating promise but which in themselves served no end. The 49 goals he scored for Peterborough in 94 games the 52 netted for Brentford in 97 are evidence of a tidy marksman. The question is can he find next-level nets with the same frequency?
England squad in full
Goalkeepers: Dean Henderson, Nick Pope, Aaron Ramsdale.
Defenders: Trent Alexander-Arnold, Ben Chilwell, Conor Coady, Eric Dier, Marc Guehi, Reece James, Harry Maguire, Luke Shaw, John Stones, Fikayo Tomori, Kieran Trippier, Kyle Walker.
Midfielders: Jude Bellingham, Mason Mount, Kalvin Phillips*, Declan Rice, James Ward-Prowse.
Forwards: Tammy Abraham, Jarrod Bowen, Phil Foden, Jack Grealish, Harry Kane, Bukayo Saka, Raheem Sterling, Ivan Toney.
*withdrawn through injury
Arsenal were never troubled by the Brentford swarm. By increments, as it always does, the Premier League is revealing the strengths and weaknesses of its elements. Brentford could not find the energy or ebullience that swept away United and Leeds. Arsenal, shorn of two of their most influential players, skipper Martin Odegaard and Oleksandr Zinchenko, were a class apart, imperious even, in keeping with the historical moment pressing on the nation’s capital.
A minute’s silence for the late Queen Elizabeth II at the start of the game was observed, as you would expect, with due deference. It was followed by a rendition of God Save the King, which still jars somewhat after 70 years of homage to a queen. Arsenal paid their own tribute with a display full of aristocratic if not regal pretentions, topped by a goal from Fabio Vieira on his first Premier League start that suggests the £34m signing from Porto could prove as influential as fellow newbies Jesus and Zinchenko.
from Football | News and analysis from the Premier League and beyond | iNews https://ift.tt/iF1ZQ9Y
Post a Comment