Coastal Defence Comes Crumbling Down

Well, that was a nasty little reality check.

Seven wins on the spin, confidence soaring, and suddenly Arsenal looked like a side that had forgotten how to play football. Brighton didn't just beat us. They pressed us, outplayed us and eventually put us out of our misery with three goals that exposed some distinctly uncomfortable weaknesses.

The Seagulls were celebrating their 125th anniversary, and Arsenal generously decided to provide the entertainment. Unfortunately, it was the home supporters who got to enjoy the party.

From the opening whistle, Brighton were at us like a pack of hungry dogs. Their high press had our defenders looking distinctly uncomfortable, and Riccardo Calafiori's early clearance was the first indication that this wasn't going to be one of those afternoons when everything clicked into place.

Ferdi Kadioglu fired over, and then David Raya had to produce a full-stretch save to deny Charalampos Kostoulas. We were barely out of our own half.

It took 15 minutes before Arsenal managed anything resembling an attack. A long ball from Raya released Bukayo Saka, but his effort was blocked. Calafiori then had a header charged down, and for a brief period, we began to look like a team that had actually met before kick-off.

But Brighton had other ideas.

Pascal Gross picked up the ball outside the penalty area and sent a low shot crashing in off Raya's near post. It was a fine finish, although the ease with which Brighton found shooting opportunities from distance was becoming a worrying theme.

Still, at 1–0, we were very much in the game.

Then came the moment that effectively killed it.

Martin Odegaard drove into the box, Saka managed a tame effort that Bart Verbruggen collected, and within seconds Brighton were racing up the other end.

Kostoulas advanced with the confidence of a man who knew exactly what he was doing and buried a superb effort into the bottom corner from 25 yards.

Two goals down at half-time. Two long-range strikes. And a mountain to climb.

The second-half response? What response?

Arsenal needed to come out swinging. Instead, Brighton continued to dictate proceedings, and on the hour mark Chema Andres rose at the far post to head home from a beautifully delivered corner.

Three-nil.

Game over.

Mikel Arteta turned to his bench, introducing Viktor Gyokeres in the hope that fresh legs might inject some urgency into a performance that had become increasingly pedestrian.

To his credit, Gyokeres produced a delightful ball over the top to release Kai Havertz, who found himself one-on-one with Verbruggen.

This was the chance. The moment to salvage a little pride and perhaps give Brighton something to think about.

Havertz hit it straight at the goalkeeper.

That, ladies and gentlemen, was pretty much that.

Brighton cruised home, Arsenal trudged off, and our magnificent seven-game winning streak disappeared into the Sussex sea.

A defeat worth examining

There is no need for hysteria. Seven consecutive victories represent an excellent start to any campaign, and this was our fourth successive away fixture in less than a fortnight.

Fatigue may well have played a part.

But let's not pretend this was simply a case of tired legs.

Brighton were sharper, more aggressive and considerably more effective in possession. Their pressing repeatedly forced mistakes, while Arsenal struggled to establish any rhythm in midfield.

The hosts created the better chances, scored three unanswered goals and deserved their victory.

What should concern Arteta is not merely the scoreline but the manner of the defeat.

We looked vulnerable when pressed, failed to prevent Brighton from shooting in dangerous positions and offered precious little attacking threat once we fell behind.

For all the attacking talent at our disposal, our best opportunity came from a substitute's pass to Havertz. That is hardly an encouraging statistic.

And while Brighton deserve enormous credit, Arsenal must ask themselves why they were so comprehensively second best.

One defeat doesn't undo seven victories. But seven victories don't make a performance like this acceptable either.

Time to regroup

The international break now arrives at an opportune moment.

Arteta has time to examine what went wrong, although most of his players will be disappearing to represent their countries rather than working on the training ground.

We return to Premier League action against Leeds United at home on Saturday, October 10.

That fixture provides an opportunity to demonstrate that Brighton was an aberration rather than the beginning of an unwelcome trend.

For now, congratulations to Brighton on their anniversary. They played with the energy, ambition and conviction that Arsenal conspicuously lacked.

As for us, the unbeaten run is over, the winning streak is history, and the players have been given a reminder that reputations count for very little when the opposition wants it more.

Seven wins, one defeat. No crisis. But plenty of questions.

And Arteta needs to find some answers before Leeds come calling.

Max Makes Marks Skidding Town Out Of Tournament

Mighty Max Makes His Mark as Arsenal’s Kids Keep Coming

There are nights in the Carabao Cup when the result is almost beside the point. Arsenal’s 4-2 win at Ipswich put us safely into the last 16, but the scoreline will probably be a footnote to the thing we’ll actually remember.

Max Dowman.

Sixteen years old. First competitive start of the season. Six minutes gone. Goal.

And not some fortunate ricochet off his shin either. Dowman won the ball high up the pitch, continued his run, took Ebere Eze’s return pass, wrong-footed Cedric Kipre and buried his finish into the bottom corner.

That’s not what 16-year-olds are supposed to do.

At that age, most of us were trying to work out how to get served in a pub. Dowman is apparently trying to work out how quickly he can get into Mikel Arteta’s Premier League team.

NO FEAR

What impressed me wasn’t simply the two goals. It was the complete absence of fear.

Young players sometimes make their first appearances looking as though they’ve been instructed not to make a mistake. Keep it simple. Give it to the senior players. Don’t take risks.

Dowman looked as though nobody had bothered to tell him he was the kid.

His second goal arrived just 90 seconds after half-time. Martin Zubimendi helped work the ball through to him and Dowman calmly rolled it into the bottom corner.

Two goals.

Sixteen years and 258 days old.

Only Cesc Fabregas has scored younger for Arsenal in this competition, and Dowman became only the second 16-year-old to score twice in a game for a Premier League club in all competitions. The other was some bloke called Wayne Rooney.

Decent company.

Comparisons at this age are dangerous, of course. Arsenal supporters have seen enough wonderkids to know that development rarely travels in a straight line.

But equally, there comes a point when pretending not to be excited becomes ridiculous.

This boy looks special.

ARSENAL’S PRODUCTION LINE

Dowman wasn’t the only teenager worth watching.

Marli Salmon, barely 17 himself, played alongside Gabriel and looked remarkably composed. He defended when he needed to defend, carried the ball confidently into midfield and generally behaved as though playing senior football at Portman Road was perfectly normal.

Later, Theo Julienne came on for his competitive debut.

That matters.

For all the money Arsenal have spent assembling a squad capable of challenging for the biggest trophies, there remains something uniquely satisfying about watching another Hale End player emerge.

Saka. Lewis-Skelly. Nwaneri. Now Dowman, Salmon and Julienne are knocking on the door.

You can buy quality.

You can’t buy that connection.

NONI LOOKING DANGEROUS

There were plenty of encouraging signs elsewhere.

Noni Madueke caused Ipswich problems throughout and smashed in Arsenal’s second after some excellent pressing and a lovely Mikel Merino chip put him through.

Madueke increasingly looks like a player capable of giving Arteta exactly what he wants from his wide players: pace, directness and the willingness to attack defenders rather than simply recycle possession.

Merino then got the fourth, controlling Bruno Guimaraes’ pass before firing in off the post.

At 4-0, it was job done.

The two Ipswich goals — Anis Mehmeti first and former Gunner Chuba Akpom in stoppage time — made the final scoreline look slightly less comfortable than the match actually was.

Arteta won’t particularly enjoy conceding twice.

I doubt it will keep him awake.

THE BIGGER PICTURE

This is exactly what you want from the League Cup.

Win the game. Rest some players. Give others minutes. Introduce youngsters to senior football. Discover whether the next generation can handle it.

And occasionally discover that one of them doesn’t merely handle it.

He grabs hold of the game.

Nobody should be demanding that Dowman starts every Premier League match now. He needs protecting, managing and developing properly. There will be poor games because there are poor games for every 16-year-old footballer who has ever lived.

But there is also no point pretending we didn’t see what we saw at Portman Road.

Two goals.

Two composed finishes.

No fear.

Arsenal are into the last 16.

And Max Dowman has properly announced himself.

The scary thing?

He’s still not old enough to drive himself home.

Raya Unfazed By Crazy VAR Decision

Raya Saves Arsenal From VAR’s Latest Moment of Madness

Arsenal’s 100 per cent Premier League record remains intact. Six wins on the spin in all competitions, another clean sheet, Bruno Guimaraes off the mark and Bukayo Saka putting the cherry on top.

So why did Mikel Arteta look like a man who wanted to throttle somebody?

Because Arsenal’s 2-0 victory at Sunderland could quite easily have been turned on its head by one of those refereeing decisions that makes you wonder what on earth VAR is actually there for.

Thankfully, David Raya had other ideas.

With the game still in the balance, referee John Brooks decided that Ezri Konsa’s tussle with Dan Ballard constituted a penalty. Arteta subsequently described Ballard’s contribution as a “judo roll”, which was considerably more diplomatic than some Arsenal supporters will have been.

I’ve watched it again and I’m still struggling to understand what Konsa was supposed to have done.

More importantly, VAR watched it too.

That’s the bit that gets me.

Referees will make mistakes. Football happens quickly. Bodies collide, players exaggerate contact and officials occasionally see something that simply wasn’t there.

Fine.

But we now have several people sitting in a room watching the same incident from umpteen different angles, in slow motion, with the ability to tell the referee: John, you might want another look at that.

And they still managed to arrive at a penalty.

Arteta was absolutely raging afterwards.

“It is unacceptable at this level,” he said. “This can change the course of a season.”

He’s right.

Imagine Le Fee scores. Sunderland suddenly have momentum, the Stadium of Light erupts and Arsenal are facing a completely different final half-hour.

Instead, Raya produced a superb save.

And 121 seconds later, Arsenal scored.

That is what title-challenging teams do.

Rather than feeling sorry for themselves, Arsenal went straight up the other end and punished Sunderland. Guimaraes collected the ball around 20 yards out and curled a beauty into the net for his first Arsenal goal.

Not a bad way to introduce yourself.

Sunderland deserve some credit because they made Arsenal work extremely hard. This wasn’t some procession against a side content to admire Arsenal’s football. They competed, disrupted and made the Gunners uncomfortable.

But this Arsenal team increasingly seems to possess something previous incarnations didn’t always have.

They can win ugly.

They can survive difficult periods.

And when something goes against them, they don’t necessarily collapse into an extended bout of self-pity.

Raya saves the penalty.

Two minutes later: bang.

Guimaraes.

Game changed.

Then, deep into stoppage time, Reinildo Mandava picked up his second yellow and Arsenal were finally awarded a penalty of their own.

Up stepped Saka.

2-0.

Goodnight Sunderland.

There will inevitably be people saying Arteta shouldn’t complain because Arsenal won.

Nonsense.

That is precisely when you should complain.

Do it after a defeat and everybody says you’re making excuses. Do it after you’ve won 2-0 and nobody can accuse you of blaming the referee for the result.

Arteta wasn’t asking for Arsenal to receive special treatment. He was asking how, with all the technology now available, such a dubious decision can survive VAR scrutiny.

And that’s a question football still hasn’t satisfactorily answered.

VAR was supposed to eliminate the howlers.

Instead, we’ve reached the bizarre stage where supporters sometimes watch a replay of an incident, reach an obvious conclusion within ten seconds, and then wait several minutes while highly trained officials apparently discover an entirely different version of reality.

Fortunately, on this occasion it didn’t matter.

Raya made sure of that.

Six consecutive victories. Another clean sheet. Guimaraes up and running. Saka on the scoresheet. Arsenal still perfect in the Premier League.

And perhaps the most encouraging thing of all?

On a day when the referee very nearly changed the game, Arsenal simply changed it back.

Loose Cannon verdict: Sunderland 0 Arsenal 2. Three points, clean sheet, perfect record intact.

VAR 0 David Raya 1.

NAPOLI CHASE SHADOWS AS ØDEGAARD DELIVERS THE KILLER BLOW

There are wins, and then there are the nights when you watch Arsenal patiently take a very good European side apart and think: this lot really do know exactly what they’re doing.

Napoli made us work for it. They defended, they competed and for 74 minutes they somehow kept us out. But Arsenal never panicked. We kept playing. Kept passing. Kept moving them around. And eventually Napoli simply couldn’t live with it.

On 75 minutes, the breakthrough finally arrived — and it was pure Arsenal.

Bruno Guimarães found Ben White inside the box, White laid it back to Martin Ødegaard and suddenly Napoli were chasing shadows. Ødegaard exchanged passes with Christos Tzolis before absolutely thumping his finish in off the post from the edge of the area.

1–0. Fourth of the campaign for Ødegaard. And thoroughly deserved.

This wasn’t a lucky ricochet or a goal conjured from nothing. It was the reward for sticking to the football we had played all night. Pass. Move. Drag them out. Go again. Eventually something breaks.

Napoli broke.

We should have finished them off six minutes from time. Kai Havertz surged forward on the counter and released Noni Madueke, who suddenly had the goal at his mercy. Milinković-Savić somehow kept out the one-on-one with his feet, and when Tzolis followed up, his effort was cleared off the line.

That should have been that.

Then, in the dying seconds, Havertz actually did have the ball in the net after Milinković-Savić spilled another Tzolis effort. Cue celebrations — followed by that modern football disease: the delayed offside flag.

No goal.

Never mind.

Sixty seconds later the whistle went anyway.

Arsenal 1, Napoli 0.

And here’s the statistic that should make the rest of Europe sit up: 13 consecutive victories in the league phase of the competition.

Thirteen.

European football is supposed to be where the margins get smaller, where one mistake kills you and where even the best sides occasionally come unstuck.

Arsenal just keep winning.

Perhaps the most encouraging thing was the patience. There was no desperation at 0–0. No abandoning the plan. No hopeful punts into the penalty area because the clock was ticking. We trusted the passing game until Napoli could no longer follow it.

Then Ødegaard punished them.

That’s what serious teams do.

And if Napoli spent much of the evening chasing shadows, they won’t be the last.

The Cannon keeps rolling.