Arsenal edge out Huddersfield by two goals to one at the John Smith's in a match that featured little good, plenty of bad, and an abundance of ugly as the Gunners grabbed another vital three points and remain very much in the top four scrap. Two goals in the first half, one from Alex Iwobi and the other from Alexandre Lacazette was enough to see off the Terriers. There were, of course changes from our last match against Manchester City. Emery decided to go three at the back in this game, using Kolasinac and Maintland-Niles as the respective wing backs. Aubameyang and Ozil did not travel due to an illness. Granit Xhaka was still out with an apparent groin injury while Ramsey was left out due to a knee issue. Henrikh Mkhitaryan was recalled to the starting XI which was a bit of a surprise, but a welcomed one considering our options in his position.
There was a stat making rounds before this match that Huddersfield had failed to score in their last 8 hours and 57 minutes of football in all competitions leading up to this match. Also, we are the only Premier League side that has failed to keep a clean sheet away from home. I think we all knew the inevitable. Sure enough, we conceded a goal in stoppage time, courtesy of an own goal by Sead Kolasinac which made for a rather uncomfortable ending.
Player Ratings and Talking Points
Unai Emery: 6
His choice of playing three at the back against a relegation threatened Huddersfield may have discouraged many. However, in my opinion I don't think a back three is as negative as a setup as some would believe (at least when executed in the right way). The system gives us an obtainable balance going forward with width as well as creativity with the two inside forwards playing just behind the striker in the half spaces. As far as the system is concerned defensively, there can be no argument that putting an extra centre back on the defensive line actually helps our collective solidity. That's because it doesn't. So no matter which way you slice it, our underbelly is a soft one. The issue I had with the match was not our setup per say, but the manner in which it was executed against a rock bottom side like Huddersfield. As much of a mystery remains in our identity, it is understood that Unai Emery prefers to have 'control' in the middle third areas. This is evident in his preference to deploy more defensive minded central midfielders opposed to adventurous ones. However, against Huddersfield we saw something different. We sat back and absorbed pressure, and at the same time, afforded the home side to control the match in a capacity that you wouldn't expect considering our pedigree. Another frustrating issue with our approach was our inability to get out of our own half. Since we put ourselves under constant pressure by deploying a low block, once we regained possession we had trouble keeping it. More often than not, we were loose on the ball and gave it away quite cheaply. Introductions of Elneny, Suarez, and Willock did little to alleviate the issue. Now apart from my grievances of approach, style, and execution, Emery was able to squeeze out the required efficiency needed to get the three points. So regardless of how we obtained the result, the important thing was we earned it and can focus on the next match.
Leno: 7
Koscielny: 8
Mustafi:6
Monreal: 6.5
Kolasinac: 6
Maintland-Niles: 6
Torreira: 6.5
Guendouzi: 6.5
Mkhitaryan: 7.5
Iwobi: 7
Lacazette: 7.5
Subs
Elneny: 6
Suarez: 6
Willock: n/a
Mkhitaryan Boost
He has his flaws and can largely be a frustrating player at times, however Henrikh Mkhitaryan's return from injury couldn't have come soon enough. He's a player that can help drive us forward into the final third, is a versatile option whether we use a back 3 or back 4 system, and can provide us much needed incision in the danger areas. I thought he played quite well, especially for starting in his first game back from a pretty lengthy injury layoff. He was guilty of missing a very good chance, however the times we were able to get forward, his movement and linkup with Iwobi and Lacazette was excellent inbetween the lines. His contributions will be crucial in our fight for the top 4, as well as the Europa League.
Lack of Confidence Worrying
In terms of the table, we're right where we need to be in challenging for a top 4 birth and regaining Champions League football next season. We're level with Chelsea on points and trail the revitalized Manchester United by 1 point. However, at this point if you're merely looking at form and confidence, we would be the first of the three sides to count out of making the cut when using the process of elimination. Manchester United have seemingly come out of their proverbial Jose Mourinho shell under their new manager and look the most likely to squeeze in the top 4. Chelsea have recorded heavy losses to Bournemouth and Manchester City, which won't do much to aid in confidence. On the other hand, we've had our struggles against bottom sides like Cardiff and Huddersfield this past weekend. We seem to be stuck between second and third gear recently and lack the confidence and swagger you would expect to see from a top 4 side. Now I am not writing us off because there are a lot of points still up for grabs (and also the alternate route via Europa League). However, I do believe that if we want to give ourselves an honest chance, much more will be required.
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