Super, Super Tom, Super, Super Tom. SUPER TOMIYASU! The Brazillian duo of Martinelli and Jesus will get the headlines they deserve. But we must give Tomiyasu his flowers! An incredible performance at the back, he has been ever consistent and rightfully earned his position in the starting lineup. The UCL is wrapped up, qualification is nearly guaranteed.
The Art of Analysis Breakdown on how Mikel achieved this is here:
Brazilian brilliance propelled us back to the top of our Champions League group at the halfway stage, with Gabriel Martinelli and Gabriel Jesus scoring to defeat Sevilla.
Martinelli sprinted 50 yards to score the opener in the dying seconds of first-half stoppage time, and Jesus netted his third consecutive Champions League goal in spectacular style on 53 minutes to put us in control.
Nemanja Gudelj headed Sevilla back into the game shortly after, but we held firm to secure the victory. Some impressive saves from the much-maligned David Raya – including one in the last moments of the game – maintained the Gunners’ lead until full-time.
Arsenal’s victory and Lens’ draw with PSV Eindhoven mean that the Gunners are four points clear of third place in the group. They will qualify for the knockout stages if they defeat Sevilla in their next match on November 8, and Lens defeat PSV on the same night. The only downside to Arsenal’s otherwise successful evening was Gabriel Jesus limping off with a hamstring injury with 10 minutes remaining.
In his post game interview; Jesus himself replied: “Let’s see. I was tired, to be honest. But I never want to go off. I always respect the manager’s decision. It was unlucky. Let’s see what it is.”
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta told TNT Sports: “He felt something in his hamstring, so we will see. Straight away asked to be subbed which is not good news because Gabi is not a player who does that at all. So we have to wait and see in the next few days.”
The Key Stats:
Our 14th away Champions League match against Spanish opposition, yet only our second time scoring more than once. The first was a 3-2 win against Celta de Vigo in the 2003/04 round of 16.
Gabriel Jesus’ assist for Gabriel Martinelli’s opener was the first time two Brazilians had combined for a Champions League goal for our club.
With 14 goals and four assists, Jesus has contributed to 18 goals in his last 17 Champions League starts. He is also only the second player to score in his first three appearances for our club in the competition, after Marouane Chamakh in 2010.
This was Martinelli’s 30th goal for our club in all competitions, and we have remained unbeaten whenever he has scored (W25 D5).
We have lost only one of our last 11 Champions League group stage matches (W8 D2), scoring at least once in our last 20 such matches.
Super Tomiyasu:
Tomiyasu was everywhere across the back line. A solid performance in LB replacing Zinchenko. He was in control provding excellent movement and even an attacking threat doubling up with Martinelli on the left hand side.
The brilliance of Tomis play is in his consistency. He can play well across the entire backline, either RB, LB or CB. He simply is that versatile and provides an exvellent option for Mikel. More importantly the main attribute he possess is his consistency. He is always there on hand either playing the simple pass when needed or using his presence to either block shots or trouble attackers into making errors.
His performances have been so pleasing to the eye test, Fabrizio Romano commented: “Takehiro Tomiyasu is another player earning praise for his recent performances and although I don’t currently have any information on the possibility of a new contract soon, Arsenal are very happy with his performances,” “I can also reveal that Inter Milan wanted Tomiyasu in July but Arsenal said no; Mikel Arteta and Edu wanted to keep him and it was clearly a successful decision, he’s really appreciated at the club and is really showing his value and versatility at the moment.”
I for one think he should be starting ahead of Zinchenko in the away games where we maybe expect more of an attacking threat from the opposition or to have less control of the game. At home I can see Zinchenko playing in a more aggressive manner to suit the style needed.
However both Tomiyasu and Zinchenko, will need to prove their worth once Jurrien Timber returns as he truly did show he had the skills to shine in that LB/LWB role in the inversions of play that Mikel wants.
David Raya vs Aaron Ramsdale:
David Raya continued in goal for Arsenal despite his error against Chelsea on Saturday, with Aaron Ramsdale back on the bench. This game Raya had a mixed performance once again. It was a night of some errors, lapses in judgment but also incredible world class saves. Some saves that I doubt Ramsdale could make… and yes I’m talking about that punch where he literally saved it backwards.
But more importantly both these keepers have errors in their game. This is to be expected, but both lack a level of consistency to really be a number 1. Fans are already calling for Aaron to face his old side in Sheffield United this coming Premier League Game week.
I for one feel Aaron needs a competitive game time and would certainly like to see him feature against his old side.
Conclusion:
A tough test that was passed by Mikels mighty Gunners. However not without some questions marks left unanswered. The fitness status of Gabriel Jesus and that hamstring is certainly the niggling questions. But more of a question has the Martin Ødegaards lacklustre performances as of late. Is it tiredness, does he need a mental break too? Given the opposition facing us soon. It may be time to throw in Emile Smith-Rowe into the 10 role and give Martin a break?
Never the less, a win is a win. Arsenal held on in the end and showed grit to win in a place not many go to and survive. With the Qualification nearly secured too. It’s a step in the right path for Arsenal who remain competitive on all 4 fronts!
Come on you Gunners!
Written by Reekesh Somaroo
Stats by Opta & FotMob