Australia at Wembley is Declan Rice’s next engagement. We can forgive him, and his Arsenal and England teammates Aaron Ramsdale and Eddie Nketiah, if their minds wander towards Stamford Bridge 12 days hence.
We are all for England rising, but heh, something momentous is brewing in the Premier League that feels way more compelling than a Friday night friendly at Wembley or, quite frankly, a competitive fixture against Italy next Tuesday.
One nil to the Arsenal rarely felt so good. Gabriel Martinelli, scorer of the winning goal against Manchester City admittedly, fell to his knees at the final whistle to offer thanks for a momentous victory. Behind him Rice raised both arms in celebration. This is what it meant to beat City in the league for the first time in 16 attempts.
A succession of football talking heads offered takes on the importance of the victory. Talk of the title race being “blown wide open” in the second week of October is self-evidently premature. However the idea that Arsenal’s credentials are significantly enhanced is not without weight, not least with regard to the impact of Sunday’s result on others.
Emphasis centred on the psychological gains that accrue to Arsenal. How much better they feel about themselves is only part of the story. In taking down the pre-eminent force in the game, Arsenal stole some of City’s power, leaving the champions diminished, if only by degree, and themselves augmented.
Arsenal travel to Chelsea after the international break, a team experiencing their own transformation under Mauricio Pochettino, led in no small way by a rejuvenated Raheem Sterling. But sticking four past Burnley is not the same as facing down the champions of Europe.
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta talked afterwards about beating the best team in the world. This was all part of the ramraid on City’s power stores. The logical consequence of beating the best is being the best. By framing the victory in this way Arteta is projecting big dog prestige, forcing on opponents the idea that Arsenal, too, are the real McCoy, a squad to be feared.
All dominant teams benefit from this power advantage. City are carried along by a powerful narrative that has them crowned champions before a ball is kicked. The likes of Erling Haaland, Rodri, Kevin de Bruyne, Bernardo Silva et al are imbued with enormous heft that fills opponents with dread to the degree that defeat is almost inevitable.
This has a paralysing effect on opponents, as it had on Arsenal in the early stages of Sunday’s match. Despite the absence of De Bruyne and Rodri, Arsenal played within themselves, petrified of making an error. Without really trying City pushed Arsenal into panicked retreat, forcing them ever deeper into a place of last resort, David Raya’s box.
From his seat in the commentary gantry pundit Gary Neville wondered about the sanity of the Arsenal ‘keeper, who seemed on the point of crisis whenever the ball entered his area. It took a full 30 minutes for Arsenal to rid themselves of their cloak of inferiority and begin to push City back. City weren’t at full tilt, but they still swaggered about the paddock with regal menace.
The introduction of Martinelli for Leandro Trossard at the start of the second half proved the catalyst that infused Arsenal with positivity and belief. Arsenal’s City god complex fell away. City were suddenly playing under pressure, tasting their own medicine, and looked vulnerable as a result.
City’s opponents are routinely prisoners of neuroses. This is the space Arsenal are entering, the idea of facing them enough to induce anxiety in any foe. Last season Arsenal’s title challenge fell apart after defeat to City in the delayed fixture at the Emirates. If that result confirmed fears that Arsenal’s failure in the title race was inevitable, Sunday’s win gave them permission to believe. And reason for others to tremble.
from Football - inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/m4tPHs5
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