Arsenal are running out of time in an impressive away win over Newcastle United. Photo: Getty Images/Stu Forster
You don't spend more than two years playing for Diego Simeone's Atlético Madrid without learning a few tricks of the trade, and Kieran Trippier can never be accused of being naive on the pitch. The Newcastle United full-back has seen it all in his lifetime and knows how to control the game, when to slow it down and how to get inside the opponent's head.
However, shortly before the break in Newcastle's match against Arsenal last Sunday, Trippier was drawn. He was pissed off, lured and then framed by Gabriel Jesus, who started a furious altercation with the Newcastle right-back, taking him out of the game before the throw-in and then aggressively attacking him when he demanded the ball.
When Jesus pushed Trippier, Trippier resisted. By the time the throw-in was launched towards the Arsenal striker, Trippier was on it — which is exactly what Jesus wanted. He went down, settling on the grass under the weight of Trippier's body. Then came his reward: a free kick for Arsenal and more time lost for Newcastle.
At that moment, Trippier would surely have realized that he had fallen into a trap. Such was his annoyance, he sarcastically applauded the judge for the decision. Looking back and away from the heat of battle, Trippier might be tempted to applaud Jesus for performing such an act of cunning.
This attack on Trippier was just one example of Arsenal players playing differently this past weekend. Moments before, Granite Xhaka had collided with Callum Wilson in an attempt to provoke the Newcastle forward. In the first few minutes, goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale took almost 32 seconds to complete the goal kick. At almost every opportunity, Arsenal's players slowed the game down.
Many of these decisions are being made now and on the pitch, depending on the nature of the competition. But Arsenal's wiser approach to last weekend's match was also the result of a deliberate strategy and concerted effort to make the team wiser, perhaps even more cynical, in the last few weeks of the campaign.
Newcastle players have been unhappy with Granite Xhaka due to slow play. Photo: Getty Images/Stu Forster
«It wasn't just about playing or dominating certain stages,» Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said after a 2-0 win over Newcastle. “It's about managing the game against a strong team. They were great in the way they played and managed the game and we should have done it even better than them. I'm very pleased with how we did it.”
Newcastle, of course, was not completely impressed. Understandably, some members of their backroom staff made this clear to the officials at halftime. But Eddie Howe's team could hardly complain about Arsenal's dark arts, given that they used many of the same tricks in January's goalless draw at the Emirates Stadium.
«It's an integral part of football,» said Dan Byrne. , Newcastle defender. «We can't do it and then complain when it happens to us.»
This level of cynicism is not found in many Arsenal players and it would be fair to say that this is not an area of the game in which which they usually do well as a team. Yes, Jesús is a cheapskate and Ben White is often sneaky on the pitch, but there aren't many in Arteta's young side who will play against Brighton this weekend.
Arsenal bosses would happily send the likes of Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard and Gabriel Martinelli to flutter around a charity event, shake hands and make polite small talk, but would they throw them into a street fight? Probably no. They are nice guys and good students. But they are not brawlers.
Arsenal players learn to fend for themselves on the pitch. Photo: Reuters/Scott Heppell
Purists may disagree, but from Arsenal's point of view, playing skills is an area in which they need to improve. The club have been accused of being too soft for too long and although they have made so much progress in so many areas this season, there is a feeling that they are not as nasty as they should be.
Arteta. made this clear after the recent draw against West Ham, saying his side were 'too good' at 2-0. In last month's 4-1 defeat against Manchester City, it was clear that Arsenal were losing to bigger, stronger and more ruthless opponents. In a championship decided by a narrow margin, these moments can be decisive.
In most of their matches, Arsenal do not need darker tricks. Usually this is a team that wants to continue the game and prove themselves. But the best sides are capable of doing both, especially when they are in a hostile environment away from home, and Arsenal's performance at Newcastle shows that they are trying to add that other dimension and a much sharper advantage within that. next stage. their development.
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