Now here at Art of Analysis we do not shy from the phrase “I told you so”. And boy did we “tell you so”. On Friday we dropped our Previews and Predictions, where we anticipated a tough game for Arsenal to break a defensive block and my word were we correct.
Above you can see what I thought would be needed and as it turned out this was exactly what happened. We also predicted a Saka anytime goal scorer bet. This in turn was doubled up with a Saka shot on target bet – each of which landed and secured a healthy Profit for my account!
As for the result, whilst we may have got the scoreline wrong, who could have predicted such a perfect counterattack goal from Forest… Not me anyway. But there certainly was a lot to take away from the game as we breakdown below.
The negatives:
So Jurrien Timber, the star defensive player who can play pretty much anywhere across the back 4 made a strong start again. We at Art of Analysis viewed Timber as likely to be a POTM contender. Whilst he started strong a self-inflicted injury in a tackle, that was later exacerbated just after half time in a bizarre manner with no other players around him. Timber went down clutching his knee… we are yet to see the casue but the fear of losing a star is high.
Ramsdale caught out? The defence should have done better? Partey at RB just couldn’t cut it? Who is truly to blame for the Forest goal and subsequent surge late on that gave an otherwise comfortable game a nervous ending. No matter who you adhere blame to, Arsenal and Mikel should do better and know better. Gone are the years that a 2-0 scoreline is comfort. Arsenal stepped off the gas and were caught out, thankfully there is enough character in the side to see it out. But it certainly isn’t a scenario we want to be seeing too often.
The Positives:
That winning feeling continues! My word that was entertaining, and I don’t just mean the first half in which we were dominant. The nervous end make for a classic game in the Prem. Arsenal end the day with a win and the all important 3 points.
Saka. The starboy is back up and running and shining as we predicted. What a goal. Already a contender for goal of the season. It certainly should be in for goal of the month. Although our boy does need protecting, he suffered some heavy challenges as well as a full stamp later on in the game. Arteta must start rotating him once we are in dominant positions in a game.
Your defence is in trouble, Nketiah in the room! I hope you were singing along once Eddie Nketiah slotted the first home. We have to acknowledge that skill showed by Martinelli to set him up. But don’t stop there, Eddie has been under big scrutiny to step up for Arsenal whilst Jesus is injured. He did his job today and that’s all we can ask of him.
Overall, it was a strong performance. Arteta and Arsenal know they can improve on this however, expect an ever-aggressive start next game. With hopefully a bit more of that killer instinct.
Written by Reekesh Somaroo