Here's Alan Alger's Three things We Learned after Arsenal came back from two goals down to draw 2-2 against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge
Slow start to the season hasn’t caught us out yet, but we need to be wary…
We definitely need to be wary of turning in another bad performance in an important game. It’s arguable that we have only performed very well in just two matches (PSV and Bournemouth) so far this season.
There are two ways to look at that and I want to be positive and say that the position we find ourselves in (more so in the league) might mean that once we click we will kick-on. That’s not guaranteed though and there was a real feeling we got away with one, against a relatively poor Chelsea side that hardly threatened.
We can’t take Seville lightly in midweek and then need to push through to November and another tough away trip, this time to Newcastle. The negative side of the coin is if we have been playing badly but don’t have additional gears left to kick-on then we will be in trouble. Certain players need a bit of a wake up call too.
Serious questions have to be asked about Zinchenko…
We only have a sample of 50 Premier League minutes and a friendly at Wembley to judge the potential positive impact that Jurrien Timber may have had on the team, but it wouldn’t be overstating things to say that his ACL injury might actually define our season.
We just cannot rely on Oleksandr Zinchenko, especially in tough games like yesterday. He certainly wasn’t the only under-performer in red in the abysmal first-half, but he was by far the worst culprit. Enough for lots of Gooners to question what he actually brings to the team. It may well be that the intention all along would be for Mikel Arteta to use him sparingly as his previous club Manchester City did.
Ensuring he plays in the easier home games and alleviates pressure on the squad, after all he has been there and done it at the top level. Is he a top performer as an individual though? I’d certainly be answering in the negative.
It’s a real shame that Kieran Tierney left the club, but I do understand how Arteta weighed up that situation in principal. Although Timber was injured on August 12 and Tierney departed the club over a fortnight later, when the medical team would have known the extent of the Timber injury. That doesn’t really make sense. Although a more than able deputy has emerged.
Saturday was the third time Takehiro Tomiyasu has come on for the Ukrainian and improved the game state for us. Now two wins from draws and yesterday’s draw from a losing position. Five points in total.
Finishing on the positive of our finishers…
Talking of subs, Mikel Arteta likes to refer to his bench as ‘finishers’ and in the last few weeks the players entering the fray from the bench have all been vital in the collection of points. The goal that won the game against title rivals Manchester City involved a handful of subs in the build-up and execution.
Saturday's leveller by Leandro Trossard was the fourth goal from our subs in the league this season out of the 18 we’ve scored. The bench are also responsible for four assists. Arteta’s ability to change games will be a key factor as we try to keep up the pressure at the top of the table.
It’s also a huge boost to the team that they can look to the sidelines for inspiration and the belief that if things aren’t going well we have quality in the ranks.