On the Whistle: Atalanta 0-0 Arsenal - "Raya to the rescue!"

Oh, hi. Bit of fun. Quite a boring game, I thought. Listen, I'm sure someone will disagree with me. I'm sure someone will try to explain to me why that was tactically fascinating. And the fact that I didn't find it so makes me a Luddite. But my God, I thought that was dull. Full-time in Bergamo, Atalanta 0, Arsenal 0. Would have been Atalanta 1-0 but for an extraordinary double save from David Araya, which I think was the only real Arsenal highlight of the game. There are reasons that this was turgid. I think one is obviously the schedule at this point in time. Arsenal had a big game against Spurs on Sunday. They've got maybe an even bigger one against Manchester City at the weekend. Arsenal have injuries. They miss Martin Odegaard. I think there are still big questions about creativity in this team, maybe, without him. And Atalanta are an incredibly awkward opponent. And let's be clear, this is a good point for Arsenal. I think under the new format, a draw in this kind of game away from home with some very winnable games to come is a very healthy result indeed and puts Arsenal in a decent position. I just saw Declan Rice interviewed. He spoke about how the team are disappointed they wanted to win this one. I'm sure that's true. But I think Mikel Arteta, when he reflects on it and when he looks in the context of the week in general, I think he'll be content with this result. I wouldn't go further than that. He likes to win, but I'd say he'll be content. And Atalanta have been a really difficult opponent. Europa League winners last season blew away teams like Liverpool, blew away a team like Bayer Leverkusen, were the only team to beat Bayer Leverkusen last season. And Arsenal controlled them for the most part. It was a question of two teams almost cancelling each other out. And I think Arsenal deserve some credit defensively for that. I mean, the back four continues to impress. And Raya obviously kept them at bay. Let's get into him because he started the season in really excellent form. I always said I didn't think we'd see the best of David Raya until Aaron Ramsdale left Arsenal. I think, to be fair, the debate, such as it was, began to be resolved in the second half of last season when Raya settled into the team and looked markedly better. But he's gone up another level again at the start of this season. I mean, it was only a couple of weeks ago he produced a brilliant double save to deny Olly Watkins. And what a double save he produced to deny Atalanta here. A penalty which was soft, probably a penalty, you know, for a slightly clumsy attempt at a challenge by Thomas Partey. Perhaps we'll get on to him too. But Raya plunges to his right, makes the save. And if you watch it back in slow motion, what's most impressive about it really is the manner in which he gets up to save the rebound. He doesn't commit fully one side and then have to get up and turn around and go the other way. He's able to kind of spin on his bum. I read a good piece by Simon Collings of the Evening Standard, which I think sadly had its last print edition perhaps this week. But it was an excellent piece about David Raya and it spoke to one of his early goalkeeper coaches about that spinning on his bum move, that reaction time. It's unconventional among English goalkeepers, that style of recovery. But it has stood Raya in great stead throughout his career and already this season. Listen, if it was an Arsenal striker who'd headed that right down the middle of the goal when the other side of the goal was gaping, we would probably categorise it as a miss. But I think it's a bit churlish to talk about that when Raya's reactions are so good. I think this was probably his best save for Arsenal. It might be the best save of his career. It might remain the best save of his career. I think in terms of, you know, so many goalkeepers would give up on that ball and he did not. And he had the agility to get there. So that was the difference really between a defeat and a draw tonight. We had a couple of moments. Bukai Saka had a free kick that was well saved in the first half. Gabriel Martinelli sent through by Raheem Sterling late on. Unfortunately, it was the kind of finish that Martinelli has been producing of late. A wayward one fired over the bar. That was the big chance. And really, once that was gone, I never really felt that we would score. What can I say about the performance more generally? I thought we had our best period in the last 20 minutes of the game. I think our football looked more fluent then and we've made a number of changes. Jorginho had come on for Thomas Partey, which I think improved us. Trossard came on for Gabriel Jesus. Trossard was dropping very deep in central areas, linking the play, almost doing an Odegaard kind of job. I know he's a very different player, but I think he emulated that role perhaps better than some of our other players were capable of doing tonight. Sterling came on and added some variety and attack, popping up in different positions in central areas as well as wide. And I thought Calafiore had an interesting cameo. Jürgen Timber has done well at left-back defensively. But I thought it was intriguing to see Calafiore, what he can offer. His ability and his willingness to pick up the ball in unusual areas. Even in this short 20 minutes on the pitch, he was drifting into the centre, drifting into the right, pushing on into the opponent's half, creating an extra man and overload in midfield. At a time when Arsenal's midfield is shorn of two important players in Odegaard and Mourinho, could the introduction of Calafiore add another dimension to the team? On the evidence of tonight, I think so. Maybe it was the right game for him. Back in Italy, 20 minutes off the bench against a tiring opposition. But I look forward to us building up his minutes and seeing more of him. We've obviously got a Carabao Cup game in about a week's time. You'd imagine he's in line to start that one. And then after that, he's really got to be pushing for a first-team place. Thomas Partey, yeah, I have to be honest and say I don't like singling players out and I don't like coming down too hard on players. I do think week by week I find myself alarmed a little bit by his decline. Arsenal keep picking him. Arteta keeps picking him. And my best guess is that they're trying to get him up in some sort of rhythm. And they think if they can, they can recapture something like his previous form. I think at this point in his career, with the injury record he has, it's starting to look unlikely that that will happen. And I am a little surprised that a manager as ruthless as Mikel Arteta is persisting with Partey. Now you could say, what choice has he got? You know, he's without Mourinho, he's without Odegaard. If those players were fit, Partey probably isn't in the starting 11. But I think it's almost at the point where we are probably better off trying something else. Let's see. Let's see. I mean, I think he'll pick Partey on Sunday at the Etihad. And there isn't really a bigger test than that. And I have to be honest and say I'm a little bit concerned about how that might go. I am a little bit concerned about that. I would probably favour Jorginho. Maybe Jorginho started on the bench because that is the plan. But the regularity with which Partey has been picked makes me think otherwise. And I suspect him coming off early is an indicator he will play that game on Sunday. And look, maybe he'll pull something out of a hat and maybe he'll make me look a fool. We shall see. We shall see. So yeah, there were things that I liked in that second half performance. I particularly liked Trossard. I think if it was up to me, I'd be playing Trossard. As my number 9 at the Etihad. Potentially Jorginho in midfield with Rice next to him and Havertz alongside. I think in Havertz and Rice you have enough physicality there to support Jorginho. I know people say physically Partey is better than Jorginho, he's stronger. But I'm not sure that's sort of necessary if you've got Rice next to him. And then in defence, I think it picks itself. Is it one goal conceded in five games so far this season? Outstanding. Outstanding defensively. And outstanding from the goalkeeper as well. Left-back would be the only question, wouldn't it? But Zinchenko's out. Unavailable again. Calafiore perhaps a little too soon. So I would probably continue with Jurien Timber. You've always got the Calafiore option if you want it in the second half. I'll leave it there for now. It's such a big game on Sunday. I'll be here again in my living room. Back at the Emirates next week. Very much looking forward to that. Thanks for watching guys. Let me know what you think. I'm intrigued to see how you see it. Because I have to be honest and say this was a game that my concentration did occasionally waver. Because I found it pretty dark. But I've got ten minutes out of it. So there you go. Take care guys. Speak soon. Bye bye.