I managed to watch the game against Barca fiinally. Some thoughts:
I think Saliba is a bit like Ramsdale, in that they both need a bit of needle and a challenge to be really dialled in. He had a few sloppy moments, and their first goal was one of them, and then he locks in a no one can get near him. I think it was a weakness of his last season and I'm hoping focus and conentration is a part of his game that we see improve this season.
I didn't like what I saw from Timber on the whole. He had some very good moments in terms of composure and progressing play (he also needlessly gave the ball away a lot), but he's just so aggressive in his defending and he gets it wrong too often for my liking. This is only one game and he was playing out of position at LB so I'm not worried about it yet.
White holds things together well in the defensive and middle thirds - he really does glue things together very well - but he's a tad too predictable in the final third. I'm still intrigued by the idea of "inverting" a midfielder in that RB position in some games. I can't let the Caicedo idea go, but Partey could also be a decent option in that role. White feels a little like control-ball overkill when we're absolutely dominating the opposition. I think he becomes inefficent as soon as he steps into that final third - as in, another more techncially adept player could offer a lot more - but then he is also part of the reason we often gain such strong control. I think a player like Caicedo could do what White does and more (not Partey though, he doesn't have the speed or energy)
Partey's sloppy passing still drives me mad. He's a very good player in many ways, but too often I think he just doesn't get the position well enough and sense where and how to best hurt the oppositon with his passing. And he gives it away under no pressure far too often for an elite 6. Maddening!
Ødegaard was really ineffectual. He looks like he's trying to work out the different balance we now have with Havertz instead of Xhaka. Ødegaard now presses differently, takes up slightly different positions, is being asked to move into slightly different areas and do slightly different things. I hope he doesn't take too long to work it out.
Havertz was quietly very, very good. He makes all the right passes and runs in the right moments, his touch is immaculate, he works really hard, and he's extremely quick off the ball. He really has serious pace, and surprisingly for a very tall guy, great acceleration too. I rate him anyway, but I'm still very impressed.
Smith Rowe looks back to his best, but there were a few moments when he gave me pause for thought about his potential in the 8 role. He strikes the ball extremely well and moves fantastically ahead of the ball - those are his strengths - at the same time, his passing is technically sloppy and he misses too many chances to play progressive and penetrative forward passes. There was one criminal missed pass where he should have played it to Jesus to put him in on goal. He's a forward without the speed to really flourish wide - and I'm not sure Arteta can get him to where we need in the 8, but I really hope so because he has a lot going for him. He's a bit like Partey imo - really good at a number of things - in his case, a great understanding when it comes to moving and finishing in and around the box, but in terms of seeing the bigger picture and understanding the role from deeper in the 8, he just doesn't get it right now.
Trossard is on fire, whichever part of the pitch he finds himself in. He lacks the speed and running power to threaten in behind from out wide - a bit like Smith Rowe - but he's so quick to see passes, turns on a sixpence, and looks lethal in and around the box. It's looking like he'll start the season over Martinelli if he keeps this up.
Jesus was bloody excellent. He ran their CBs ragged, and created a number of great openings - he held it up well, used his speed to run the channels, dropped deep and linked play, and pressed fantastically. He's being severely underrated. And I know why... We scored 5 goals and he didn't get one of them. He has got to start getting more goals, despite the world class brilliance of the rest of his game.
It was nice to see what felt like a proper Arsenal game in months! Some of the patterns felt very familiar in a good and not so good way. The White-Saka combination play down the right is very predictable, and only really comes to life if Saka does something special. I also don't like seeing the oppostiion still forcing our build-up to Gabriel's side and then watching on as he struggles to find a pass - our play breaks down in 3 passes or fewer from Gabriel so often. It's very frustrating.
It was also interesting seeing the new patterns and combinations forming between Havertz, Trossard and Jesus. I really like the unpredictability in terms of skill and positional rotation the trio offer, and the fact that between the 3 of them they give you a bit of everything.
Add Rice into the mix, and we should see another new aspect emerge in the pattern and structure of our build-up play. He will do things differently to Partey, and his speed and athleticism might mean he can make that trio on the left hand side even more interesting - and I definitely hope to see less vulnerability on the counter.
It's really interesting watching Arteta experiment with different players in different positions and roles, and I love that he's not resting on his laurels and instead trying to make it very hard for the opposition to predict exactly how we'll line up and where we'll try to hurt them.
