The right performance or just two sensational goals?

Despite winning a majority of the fixtures in recent weeks, the performances have been slack. That boiled over when Arsenal traveled to Bayer Leverkusen last week. The Gunners were lucky to escape with a draw and that cast some doubt over the second leg. However, Arsenal grabbed a convincing win at the weekend after beating Everton 2-0. It was a game full of chances that Arsenal eventually took. That win had the potential to ignite a flame inside the North London outfit ahead of the second leg against Leverkusen.

First Half

The German side actually started the game pretty well. They knocked the ball around confidently and were certainly probing. However, it was the Gunners that knocked on the door first. An in-swinging corner from Bukayo Saka was met by the head (or rather shoulder) of Gabriel and it sailed harmlessly wide of the goal. Arsenal kept the ball moving and Leandro Trossard was able to have an effort, however, he dragged his shot wide as well. But, the diminutive Belgian had another opportunity moments later. After a clever move, Trossard was able to engineer some space to get a shot off, but Janis Blaswich got a strong arm behind it. Mikel Arteta’s men could sense a goal was here for them and Gabriel came closer to converting a header this time around, but it still beat the crossbar. Declan Rice then stood over a free kick that was off towards the corner flag. The cross was on, but Rice went for goal and Blaswich could only parry the ball away from danger. It was hit hard, but the keeper had everything behind it. Minutes later, Saka headed a subdued effort towards goal which was easily dealt with. But, Kasper Hjulmand’s men were still very much in the game and Piero Hincapie was quick to remember that. Alejandro Grimaldo received the ball in the box and didn’t have a defender near him, but it only took two touches before Hincapie swarmed him and eliminated the danger. Within the first half hour, Blaswich had been called into action numerous times. He had another save to make, this time from Saka who capitalised on a defensive error. The save he had to make after that was even better. Trossard received a pass from Saka, in the box, and immediately smashed a shot towards goal. Janis Blaswich threw a leg at it and managed to deflect it wide. Arteta’s side can’t believe they haven’t yet scored as Mark Flekken’s stand in turned hero once again. Trossard forced him into action, but a goal-mouth scramble ensued which somehow didn’t result in a goal. Despite all the action at one end, David Raya still had to be on guard, but it was only to keep out Edmond Tapsoba’s header. In the 36th minute, Arsenal had their breakthrough. It was well worth the wait as Eberechi Eze thundered in the bouncing ball. It was an utterly sensational strike that generated an unbelievable amount of power. That would actually be the last action of note for the first half.

Second Half

The second half continued in much the same way as the first. Trossard seemed desperate to get on the score sheet, but saw another effort curl just wide of the post. The German side couldn’t really break down a sturdy Arsenal defence and things then got much harder. Just after the hour mark, Arsenal doubled their lead. Hjulmand’s side cleared a corner, but only as far as Rice. After winning a 50/50, he carried the ball forward and his eyes lit up as space emerged. From the edge of the box, he guided his chance into the bottom corner. Another fine finish. The North London side thought they added a third a little while later, but it was disallowed for handball and a foul. Despite all the intense pressure, Leverkusen were almost gifted a way back in. Thankfully for the home team, when the ball bounced off Saliba’s thigh, it spun over the top of the goal. Raya really should have done better as that could’ve bounced anywhere. Arteta’s men returned to creating chances and it was Saka again who stung Blaswich’s hands. The final opportunity of the game actually fell to the away side. Christian Kofane had a pretty exhausting night with nothing to show for it, but he very nearly grabbed a goal. The ball arrived very quickly at Kofane’s feet and he instinctively threw a boot at it. Raya had to perform an acrobatic save to deny a certain goal. That was it, 2-0, job done.

Statistics

The stats reflect the kind of game we saw in that Arsenal dominated. The Gunners had 21 shots with 12 on target. The generated 1.70 xG with just 1 big chance created. Leverkusen had 9 shots with only 2 on target. This created an xG of 0.52 with 1 big chance created.

Player Ratings

Starting XI

Raya – 7 – He made one incredible save, but completely flapped at a corner that could’ve easily resulted in a goal if it came off Saliba’s thigh differently.

White – 7 – It’s obvious he’s still working his way back to full fitness, but that was a good performance. His passing was more forceful and I enjoyed his link up play with Saka.

Saliba – 7 – He dealt with Kofane much better this week, didn’t really give him a peep outside of the one big chance he had. He was also very good in possession.

Gabriel – 7 – Much the same as Saliba, but missed two quite easy headers. The Gabriel of 2025 would’ve hammered them into the net, but he’s lost that prolific edge.

Hincapie – 8 – Another monstrous game from our Ecuadorian. He’s utterly relentless and gave Leverkusen no change down his side. He also contributed pretty well going forward with a few sweet crosses.

Zubimendi – 8 – His best performance for a long time. He was confident on the ball and we actually saw him carry it to beat a press. He’s definitely tired, but he found a way around it in this fixture.

Rice – 10 (MOTM) – The kind of performance that helps you remember why he’s considered one of the best in the world. He was everywhere. Tackles, passes and a goal. The amount of times he burst clear of an opposition player was sublime. He covered every blade of grass and more.

Eze – 9.5 – That goal will be watched on repeat for a long time, it will likely win our goal of the season. Outside of the goal, that was exactly the performance we needed from him. He was incredibly smart in his actions and Leverkusen couldn’t handle him.

Saka – 7 – It wasn’t sparkling, but it was solid. He tested Blaswich on many occasions and certainly carried more threat than last week. Not everything came off and he was guilty of too many touches at key times, but he deserved a goal or assist here.

Gyokeres – 8 – Not many times this season have I watched Gyokeres play and think that’s a proper striker right there. This was one of those games. He was brilliant. His hold up play, the way he linked up with his colleagues and his desire to score. We hardly ever see him just drop a shoulder and have a shot, but he did that a couple of times here.

Trossard – 8 – His profile is exactly what we need going forward. We don’t need two touchline hugging wingers, just the one. Trossard floated about and picked up the ball in random pockets in the final third. He created overloads in certain positions on the pitch and that allowed for extra space to have all the shots we had.

Substitutes

Norgaard – 6 – I’m happy he got some minutes, but he didn’t really do much. Although, he didn’t really need to do much.

Mosquera – 7 – He maintained the standard set by White. Grimaldo barely got in behind and that’s credit to Mosquera. He had one chance, but he took it like someone that hardly ever gets to shoot.

Martinelli – 6 – He buzzed around demanding the ball to feet, but couldn’t really impact the game as he would’ve liked.

Havertz – 6 – Much the same as Martinelli. The game was won by time he came on and the attacking output reflected that. But, it’s minutes in the tank and a build up of fitness.

Lewis-Skelly – N/A –

Summary

That was much, much better. Everton at the weekend still had its awkward moments, but we recorded over 20 shots. Compare that to the game against Brighton where we only generated seven. Maybe it’s a reflection of home and away form, but it felt like something was different on the pitch. It was the same again here. Last week we had around six shots in total, this week we had 12 shots on target alone. Maybe Arteta has the personnel available now to create the right balance in the team. These two performances are the perfect response to the critics and it sets us up extremely well for Sunday, where we take on Manchester City in the EFL Cup final. Let’s see how we might set up.

Arsenal vs City Predicted Lineup

There’s a few names that need no reasoning and you can all work out who they are. There’s an argument that Kepa Arrizabalaga deserves to start ahead of Raya, as the former has been our cup keeper. However, Arteta has to do what’s right for the club and Raya is the one that’s likely to help us win the trophy a bit more than Kepa. We’re still unsure whether Jurrien Timber will be fit, but if he isn’t then I’d like to see Ben White start again. He’ll likely be up against Jeremy Doku, which will be a tough opponent, but White will find a way. On the other side, I’d like Riccardo Calafiori to start. Hincapie has been brilliant, but he’s gone through 90 minutes against Leverkusen. Calafiori has been completely rested. He’s defensively solid, but much more creative going forward. I think that front four is the most technical we can put out. I don’t particularly rate City’s defence, so there’ll be space to flourish. If those four don’t work out then we can turn to Noni Madueke, Gabriel Martinelli, Viktor Gyokeres, Gabriel Jesus, Max Dowman and potentially Martin Odegaard. City are a wounded beast that have no European competition to win. Pep Guardiola will want to claim as many domestic trophies as possible, starting with the EFL Cup. So while we witnessed Real Madrid beat them 5-1 on aggregate, we’ll see a completely different team. But, I’m confident. Let’s get it!