REVIEW: Arsenal reality check and the quality of refereeing in EPL

BY LUMI IGUN

The fact that Arsenal have lost two matches in quick succession and a couple of draw games to complement that is not the panic button but the concern really should be that all the first-team players with the exception of Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Magalhaes, and Thomas Partey are currently experiencing a blip or deep in form.

Granit Xhaka has descended from his commanding heights of box-to-box performance to a mere passer of the ball. He is no longer the enforcer with a surprise presence in the opposition box that we use to know and his old streak of picking up a fight or roughening things up seems to get a slight nudge every now and then.

Martinelli, on the other hand, has become too predictable and the opposition has devised ways to prevent him from his electric burst of energy and his swift, deft, and delicate touches on the flanks, characteristics of his run and wing play at the peak of his performance and lease of life to the team.

He no longer has the appetite to track back and retrieve the ball when he has been dispossessed, which is a major feature of his game. It was said that you cannot take the ball off him and not get a dose of him right back as a checkmate.

Looking back in hindsight, could it be he has become so comfortable with himself as a sure bet in the team? His new carriage has the telltale sign of a “big man” or that of someone who is basking in the euphoria that he has truly arrived.

William Saliba with sublime brilliance and majestic touches on the ball has fizzled out as well. He cannot hold his own against any striker that matches him in physical battles. They all seem to have a slight edge in unsettling and giving him so much to think about during a game to the extent that he now loses his cool, calm demeanor and understandably fails to contribute anything extra in a game, presenting a picture of a drained man all the time.

Zinchenko will also have a look-in into this milieu of fault tapestry. Where is that defender so comfortable on the ball, a real ball player with deft and romantic touches on the ball that we use to know?

Chenko (coinage mine) has the ability to effortlessly join the attack or come into the midfield to orchestrate the events there. All these attributes are now in very short supply. In place are an uncontrolled burst of energy that most times results in stray passes or failed attempts at picking out impossible passes.

Somewhere in the course of a game, he starts taking long-range miscues and scuffed shots or those that simply go off target — an obvious sign that he has become desperate or losing his cool. He has also added mazy runs that lead to nowhere, ending in collision with opposing players most of the time or a turnover — permit my use of a Basketball term since I played the game.

I ask, where is that player that can effortlessly spot a pass with leadership qualities in his resume?

In my opinion, there is really nothing wrong with Ben White. Here is a player that taps his energy and inspiration from the team, he does the basics, steadfast and nothing flamboyant. He picks out those pin-drop long-range passes and joins the attack when the dynamics of the game tip him off or gives him a cue, his absorption of the team energy is almost spiritual. If the team plays well, he excels.

Finally, the last pick-out is goalkeeper Ramsdale who is simply erratic and boisterous. While these attributes sometimes come in handy and positive, they tend to come hard as well on the negative. The tendency to leave on a knife edge, sometimes entertaining, showboating, and getting high on artificially created risky situations must stop. He needs to bring some balance and calmness to his game and work on his decision-making with regard to the ball in flight and in-swingers. He visibly seems to have problems in this area of goalkeeping.

For Arteta, it’s time to tweak that team, or what a friend of mine by way of expression calls “jazzing things up”. It’s obvious that the team is experiencing burnout as well. He has to think outside the box in making some bold decisions not new to him though. He has done it before, time again for another go and stint at it.

On the officiating shame in the English Premier League (EPL) that puts Arsenal on the receiving end of its punches, I hear people say Arsenal fans cry wolf all the time. That is because we are always on the receiving end of these unfavorable official shortcomings. To say it happens to every team is a very hollow argument and an attempt to equalize.

There are teams that are openly favored and helped out when they are in a dire situation. Where a goal would be conjured from nowhere for them or worst case a penalty comes to the rescue and the world is having a close watch.

There is definitely a conspiracy of sorts on Arsenal. It’s way too much to be swept aside or under the carpet. The game in England is fast coming to disrepute with integrity deficiency.

Where else in the world would officials and the FA come forward to apologize in acknowledgment of a massive error to a team after shortchanging them many times? They did that because people are scrutinizing and taking a deeper look at this low of lows in football management at the highest level. Just in case haters out there want to mouth off, Alan Shearer and Gary Lineker have come out to lend their highly analytical and respected voices to this debacle and trend that is loaded and tilted against one team. Let’s be fair and win the game by applying the rules fairly on all the teams and putting an end to this unending show of shame.

I hear calls for the sack of Lee Mason. not sure his cup will be full at this time for I have a strange and uncanny feeling he has a supporting cast.

Lumi Igun is a Public Relations Consultant, Social Commentator and Sports Enthusiast who writes from Lagos