Arsenal ended Villa’s crazy winning streak in glorious fashion last night, crushing the Midlands outfit 4-1 to insure they end the year five points clear atop the Premier League standings.
Arsenal quiet naysayers with emphatic win
Arsenal ended Villa’s crazy winning streak in glorious fashion last night, crushing the Midlands outfit 4-1 to insure they end the year five points clear atop the Premier League standings. To be fair, Unai Emery’s side were decent value in the first stanza, presenting a clear and present danger on the counterattack. Gyokeres sent an early header home, but it was Villa who created the first gilt-edged chance, with Stamford Bridge hero Ollie Watkins sweeping an excellent chance wide. Villa seemed to boss the midfield battle in the first half, benefitting from the absence of Declan Rice. Emery will have gone into the break dreaming of a club-record 12th straight win. But Arsenal came out for the 2nd half transformed, with defensive lynchpin Gabriel- who just returned to the starting lineup- taking advantage of some indecisive goalkeeping form Emi Martinez to head the hosts into the lead.
The goal forced Villa to be a bit more proactive and opened the floodgates the other way, with Arsenal’s press forcing the Villains into a series of sloppy errors. A rejuvenated Odegaard pounced on some typically lackadaisical work from Jadon Sancho, recovering possession before neatly slipping in Zubimendi to make it 2-0. A returning Jurrien Timber applied the pressure for the next goal, pressing high to force the error that led to Leandro Trossard’s superb finish. Gabriel Jesus rounded out the scoring for the Gunners, netting his first Premier League goal since New Year’s Day with a sumptuous little finish. Villa enjoyed a late surge, with Raya making one unbelievable save before Ollie Watkins got a late equalizer. Emery refused to shake Arteta’s hand at fulltime, incensed by a few VAR decisions. I think he was probably just a little bit chastened after all the media hoopla leading into the game.
Man United undone by obstinate Amorim
Can one awful result extinguish all the goodwill engendered by Man United in recent weeks? Let’s be honest, nobody predicted Man United’s recent renaissance. United’s new singings have elevated performances and Amorim has shown a bit more tactical flexibility. Last night presented them with a bit of a tap-in: beat a woeful Wolves at home to climb into the top-four. So, what does Amorim do? He inexplicably returns to his patented back-three against one of the worst sides in Premier League history! Honestly, this is the type of self-inflicted wound that has come to define the Amorim era. United looked somewhere near their best in their 1-0 win against Newcastle, with Dorgu having arguably his best game for the club in that right-wing role. Why revert him back into the wingback role in a home match against a side with two points? This was overthinking at its worst.
Wolves looked the superior side for much of the first half, but it was United who took the lead, with brilliant work form Ayden Heaven resulting in a deflected strike from Joshua Zirkzee. Benjamin Sesko almost made it 2-0 for the hosts, planting his unobstructed back-post header against the upright. Wolves, who had lost their last 12 games in all competitions, would finish half the stronger side, as Lemmens showed wonderful reactions to save from Hugo Bueno at close range. Rob Edwards’ ragtag group of basement dwellers persisted, grabbing a much-deserved equalizer on the stroke of halftime. Ladislav Krejci smartly headed the ball home after Zirkzee failed to clear his lines. Zirkzee was taken off at halftime and subsequent reports suggest he may miss the rest of the season due to a hamstring issue.
United did look the superior side in the 2nd stanza, as they pressed forward in their attempt to breach the top four. Benjamin Sesko once again showed a disturbing lack of killer instinct, innocently heading a wonderful chance into the grateful hands of Jose Sa. The Portuguese keeper than had to get into Mr. Fantastic mode, acrobatically clearing the ball off his own line to prevent a Mosquera own-goal. Dorgu thought he had scored a last-gasp winner only for the effort to be ruled out for offside. Why on earth did Amorim think it was a good idea to revert to his much-maligned system in this game? It’s the ultimate irony: Amorim stubbornly refuses to change when things are going terribly but immediately makes changes when things are going well. Insanity.
