Arsenal remain unbeaten in the Premier League. (Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images)
Positive #2: Unbeaten record maintained
In truth, there aren’t many positives to take from the match from an Arsenal perspective, but, at the very least, our unbeaten record remains intact.
A draw against Tottenham, especially at home, is rarely enough to be considered a good result, but it does take our points tally to 14 from a possible 18.
Negative #2: Team selection/substitutions
I am a huge fan of Mikel Arteta, however, in my opinion, his decision to start with no natural left-winger led to our attacking play becoming predictable.
The injuries to Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard of course limited his options, but, we must question why Reiss Nelson was recently handed a new contract if he is not trusted to start when all those above him in the pecking order are unavailable.
Without a natural winger in that position, our play felt unbalanced and we lacked width on our left flank given Oleksandr Zinchenko’s tendency to drift into midfield. With that in mind, not only do I believe Arteta was wrong to not start Nelson, but I also believe he waited far too long to bring him on from the bench too.
Perhaps the injury to Declan Rice forced Arteta into waiting longer than he wanted, but the 23-year-old looked dangerous when he came on and should have been introduced earlier.
Continued on the next slide…
pic.twitter.com/CIR6lNfES8
<p>— Arsenal (@Arsenal) <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/09/24/3-positives-negatives-arsenal-frustrating-north-london-derby/3/"https://twitter.com/Arsenal/status/1705960686654833014?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%22>September 24, 2023</a></p></blockquote>
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<h2>Positive #1: Bukayo Saka steps up… again</h2>
<p>It was by no means one of Saka’s best displays this season, let alone his entire Arsenal career, but, it was once again the 22-year-old who stepped up when it mattered most. After all, it was his shot that resulted in Romero’s own goal, and he also showed a strong mentality to tuck away his penalty in the second half.</p>
<p>He now has five Premier League goal contributions to his name this season, and while being some distance from his best in this match, Saka still looked our most dangerous player in attack and always appeared the most likely to make something happen in the final third.</p>
<h2>Negative #1: David Raya’s distribution</h2>
<p>In my opinion, David Raya’s performance in this match was okay – not incredible but certainly not terrible, although I do think he could have dealt with the cross before Spurs’ first-half equaliser better.</p>
<p>However, my real issue with his display was his distribution, which again while not terrible, certainly was frustrating at times. One of the main reasons many believe Raya has been selected ahead of Aaron Ramsdale in recent weeks is his superior calmness on the ball when pressed, but that was not necessarily on display against Tottenham.</p>
<p>As per <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/09/24/3-positives-negatives-arsenal-frustrating-north-london-derby/3/"https://www.sofascore.com/player/david-raya/581310">Sofascore, during the 90 minutes, the Spaniard recorded a pass completion rate of just 69%, and played a total of 16 long balls, with only seven finding their target. Overall, it was not the type of on-the-ball performance that Raya has become renowned for.</p><!—pageview_candidate—><hr id="pagebreak"><p> </p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #c01f2f" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/09/24/3-positives-negatives-arsenal-frustrating-north-london-derby/3/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> #2 positive and negative </a>
</div><!—pageview_candidate—><hr id="pagebreak"><div id="attachment_136572" class="wp-caption alignnone">
<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-136572" src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/09/24/3-positives-negatives-arsenal-frustrating-north-london-derby/3/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_1101,w_1600/https%3A%2F%2Fpaininthearsenal.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2017%2F07%2F1698974909.jpeg" alt="" width="1600" height="1101" srcset="https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1698974909.jpeg 1600w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1698974909-768x528.jpeg 768w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1698974909-1536x1057.jpeg 1536w" sizes="(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px"><p class="wp-caption-text">Arsenal remain unbeaten in the Premier League. (Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images)</p>
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<h2>Positive #2: Unbeaten record maintained</h2>
<p>In truth, there aren’t many positives to take from the match from an Arsenal perspective, but, at the very least, our unbeaten record remains intact.</p>
<p>A draw against Tottenham, especially at home, is rarely enough to be considered a good result, but it does take our points tally to 14 from a possible 18.</p>
<h2>Negative #2: Team selection/substitutions</h2>
<p>I am a huge fan of Mikel Arteta, however, in my opinion, his decision to start with no natural left-winger led to our attacking play becoming predictable.</p>
<p>The injuries to Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard of course limited his options, but, we must question why Reiss Nelson was recently handed a new contract if he is not trusted to start when all those above him in the pecking order are unavailable.</p>
<p>Without a natural winger in that position, our play felt unbalanced and we lacked width on our left flank given Oleksandr Zinchenko’s tendency to drift into midfield. With that in mind, not only do I believe Arteta was wrong to not start Nelson, but I also believe he waited far too long to bring him on from the bench too.</p>
<p>Perhaps the injury to Declan Rice forced Arteta into waiting longer than he wanted, but the 23-year-old looked dangerous when he came on and should have been introduced earlier.</p>
<p><em>Continued on the next slide…</em></p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #c01f2f" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/09/24/3-positives-negatives-arsenal-frustrating-north-london-derby/3/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> #3 positive and negative </a>
</div><!—pageview_candidate—><hr id="pagebreak"><div id="attachment_136574" class="wp-caption alignnone">
<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-136574" src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/09/24/3-positives-negatives-arsenal-frustrating-north-london-derby/3/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_1706,w_2560/https%3A%2F%2Fpaininthearsenal.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2017%2F07%2F1698974318-scaled.jpeg" alt="" width="2560" height="1706" srcset="https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1698974318-scaled.jpeg 2560w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1698974318-768x512.jpeg 768w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1698974318-1536x1024.jpeg 1536w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1698974318-2048x1365.jpeg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px"><p class="wp-caption-text">The skipper led an effective Arsenal press in the first half. (Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images)</p>
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<h2>Positive #3: Effective pressing (in the first half)</h2>
<p>Before the match, I <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/09/24/3-positives-negatives-arsenal-frustrating-north-london-derby/3/"https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/09/24/3-reasons-arsenal-tottenham-north-london-derby/">discussed how ‘Angeball’ could provide us with plenty of opportunities to make use of our pressing to force the Spurs players into mistakes. In the first half especially, that was certainly the case and at times, Tottenham found it very difficult to effectively play through our press.</p>
<p>When Gabriel Jesus dispossessed James Maddison inside his own 18-yard box, it looked as though that pressing was finally going to be rewarded with a goal – only for the Brazilian to wildly fire his effort over the bar.</p>
<p>While we were largely unable to replicate the same effectiveness in our pressing in the second half, our pressing in the first half was certainly a positive to take from the match.</p>
<h2>Negative #3: Injuries</h2>
<p>To add salt in the wound of every disappointed Arsenal fan, the news of Declan Rice’s injury, albeit the seriousness of which is unknown at this stage, as well as Saka limping off in the second half are potentially huge blows for the side.</p>
<p><a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/09/24/3-positives-negatives-arsenal-frustrating-north-london-derby/3/"https://www.arsenal.com/news/every-word-mikels-post-tottenham-presser-1">Speaking after the game, Arteta confirmed that Rice was substituted at halftime due to injury, saying:</p>
<blockquote><p>“He had some discomfort in his back, and he was telling us during the first half that he wasn’t comfortable. When we assessed him at half-time, he couldn’t continue, so we had to change him.”</p></blockquote>
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<p>Saka’s withdrawal is far more likely to be nothing more than a precaution, but with Thomas Partey already injured, Rice being sidelined for an extended period would be a huge loss for the team.</p><!—pageview_candidate—>">
