Monday 2 May 2022 The Guardian •41Arteta’s young side show signs
of growing up but maverick
Tavares is a glaring weak spot
Analysis
Jacob Steinberg London StadiumArsenal: goals from set-pieces,
more sturdiness, an unashamed
willingness to run down the clock.
Whisper it, but are they
growing up? Is Arteta actually José
Mourinho in disguise? Is he soon to
be found hiding in a laundry basket
on a big Champions League night
at the Emirates? There is certainly
something about Arsenal that rubs
opponents up the wrong way.
Towards the end, as Arsenal
protected their 2-1 lead at an
increasingly irate London Stadium,
West Ham seemed to snap. Arsenal
had made it bitty. Eddie Nketiah,
who had a lively game up front, had
suddenly transformed into Diego
Costa and was doing his very best to
get a rise out of Aaron Cresswell.
Equally there were moments
to remind Arteta that Arsenal are
not the fi nished article. The lack
of urgency was a concern given
that West Ham’s focus was on their
Europa League semi-fi nal against
Eintracht Frankfurt.
The game drifted and it was a
long time before Arsenal managed
to create anything against a defence
made up of three full-backs and an
underpowered Kurt Zouma.
Perhaps it is an inevitability
of Arsenal’s youth; their most
exciting forwards, Nketiah,
Bukayo Saka, Martin Ødegaard,Gabriel Martinelli and Emile
Smith Rowe, are young and are
going to have the odd off day.
Yet Arsenal cannot aff ord to be
inconsistent now. They have to be
more assertive in the fi nal third
and, at the other end, they need
to stop teams targeting Tavares,
who always seems to be no more
than a second away from doing
something utterly disastrous
in defence.W
ith Kieran
Tierney out
for the season,
Tavares is
a worry for
Arteta. When
Tottenham watch this game they
will know where to attack Arsenal
in next week’s pivotal north
London derby. Antonio Conte’s
instructions to Dejan Kulusevski
will be simple: get the ball to
Harry Kane, wait for him to turn
and be ready to run when the
striker knocks a pass into space
down the right fl ank.
It is an obvious point of
weakness in Arsenal’s set-up;
the one area where they have not
lost their maverick tendencies.
Everybody knows that Tavares is
vulnerable. He was hooked during
the fi rst half against Nottingham
Forest in January, substituted
early against Crystal Palace last
month and was very fortunate
only to give away one penalty
against Manchester United last
weekend , while against West
Ham he spent large portions of
the game simply knocking easy
passes straight out of play.
This is a player who is not
comfortable with his defensive
duties. So it proved when
West Ham cancelled out Rob
Holding’s headed goal. Declan
Rice switched play, Tavares
was too far infi eld and Coufal
knocked the ball down to Bowen,
whose defl ected shot beat
Aaron Ramsdale.
It must be a concern for Arteta,
particularly as the excellent
Takehiro Tomiyasu limped off
on his fi rst start since January.
Tomiyasu is the opposite of
Tavares: steady, imposing,
dependable. The right-back kept
Saïd Benrahma quiet throughout
and losing him for the run-in
would be a huge blow.
All the same Arsenal still found
a way here, taking advantage of
West Ham’s lack of height through
set-piece goals from Holding
and Gabriel Magalhães. And to
give him his due Tavares was
still surging at the end, winning
a crucial header in his area
before starting a counterattack.
In many ways he was the most
entertaining player on the pitch.
Arteta, though, could have done
with more calm.M
idway through
the fi rst half of an
utterly forgettable
London derby,
Nuno Tavares
picked up the ball
near the halfway line and set off on
an adventure. Suddenly, it seemed
something special was happening.
A brief surge of energy went round
the ground. Then Tavares ran out of
steam, realised that he had no idea
what to do next and basically let the
ball run away from his feet.
Still, on he went, Arsenal’s
second-choice left-back a blur of
yellow as he continued to run in a
straight line, his momentum taking
him all the way into West Ham’s
area and giving him an excellent
view of Lukasz Fabianski booting
the ball away.
At which point it became clear
that a gaping hole had appeared
on the Arsenal left. Nothing came
from it but it was a problem for
Mikel Arteta’s team. West Ham
were repeatedly fi nding space
down that fl ank, repeatedly
running through the same passing
sequences to send Vladimir Coufal
away, and it was not much of a
surprise that Tavares was caught
out eventually, the Portuguese’s
positioning all over the place
when Jarrod Bowen cancelled
out Arsenal’s lead on the stroke
of half-time.
At least it made little diff erence
to the fi nal outcome. This was not
a memorable display from Arsenal,
who played in a daze at times and
occasionally seemed intent on
handing the initiative to Tottenham
in the race to fi nish fourth, but it
was enough for Arteta.
“In England you say win ugly,”
Arsenal’s manager said. “But I am
extremely happy to see a team win
ugly.” Arteta had a point. There
is a hardier feel to this version of Gabriel Magalhães celebrates
after scoring Arsenal’s winning
goal against West Ham
JOHN WALTON/PAThere is certainly
something
about Arsenal
that rubs
opponents up
the wrong way
Aston Villa 2
Watkins 41, Ings 90Norwich 0
Steven Gerrard prefers to vary his
attacking shape to keep opponents
guessing and has switched from
using a midfi eld diamond to 4-2-3-1
to 4-3-3 in his fi rst six months at
Villa. But the manager was in full
agreement that his team looked
better once Danny Ings came on to
join Ollie Watkins as split strikers,
with Philippe Coutinho then
playing between them, as a false 9
or as the attacking tip of a diamond
depending on your interpretation.
Both strikers scored and were also
instrumental when Villa went on a
three-game winning run in February
and March. Peter LansleyMan of the match
Ollie Watkins Aston VillaReferee John Brooks Attendance 40,290Leeds 0
Manchester City 4
Rodri 13, Aké 54, Jesus 78, Fernandinho 90Southampton 1
Romeu 9Crystal Palace 2
Eze 60, Zaha 90Watford 1
Tarkowski 8ogBurnley 2
Cork 83, Brownhill 86Wolves 0
Brighton 3
Mac Allister 42pen, Trossard 70, Bissouma 86After watching his side ease past
Leeds, albeit with some initial
diffi culty, Pep Guardiola was
grateful for the deliveries by Phil
Foden – one a free-kick, the other
a corner – that created City’s fi rst
two goals. “I’m going to give you
a secret: the set piece is about the
taker,” he said. “The taker is the
most important thing and Phil,
especially with the fi rst goal, was
fantastic.” City did not really fl ow
until going two up but showed they
can be hugely eff ective from dead-
ball routines honed in training
when more aesthetically pleasing
means are out of reach. Nick AmesIt is no coincidence that the gifted
Bruno Guimarães had his most
disappointing game for Newcastle
on the day he found himself up
against James Milner. The latter
played a key role alongside Naby
Keïta and Jordan Henderson,
helping ensure Guimarães, Joe
Willock and Jonjo Shelvey were
thoroughly upstaged. At 36, Milner- who made his debut for Leeds
20 years ago – made the most of
a rare start, emphasising why his
manager trusts him. “Milly’s a role
model,” said Jürgen Klopp. “ He
sets standards in a way not a lot of
people can .” Louise Taylor
After a fi ne start to his time on the
south coast, Armando Broja has
failed to score in his past 13 league
appearances for Southampton.
Against Palace the 20-year-old was
left on the bench, coming on the
65th minute with Southampton
looking for a winner in a match they
would go on to lose. Broja failed
to have any noticeable impact
on the game and will be keen to
reach the end of the season after
learning about the rigours of a
long campaign. But he has proved
over the months that he has plenty
more to show and should be back
stronger next season. Will UnwinMike Jackson insists he has not
waved a magic wand, but he has
conjured up a remarkable Burnley
turnaround. Sean Dyche’s dismissal
raised eyebrows but Jackson has
been a revelation, with three
successive wins lifting them out of
the bottom three. The belief and
momentum garnered at Watford
will surely carry them a long way
towards safety. For Watford, a
record-breaking 11th successive
defeat at home leaves them on the
brink of the drop. It was another
sorry display, and a summer of
soul-searching is required at a club
needing major surgery. Simon MailWhatever happens in Brighton’s
fi nal three games, this is a season
that will be fondly remembered
after the club achieved its best
points tally in the Premier League.
For Graham Potter, whose quiet
leadership and possession-based
style has given them a sniff of a
top-half fi nish, the challenge of
building on such a strong campaign
lies around the corner. Yves
Bissouma, Leandro Trossard, Adam
Webster and Tariq Lamptey are
among those linked with bigger fi sh
but Potter is adamant Brighton will
only sell at the right time and for
the right price. Ben FisherMan of the match
Rodri Manchester CityMan of the match
Nathaniel Clyne Crystal PalaceMan of the match
Josh Brownhill BurnleyMan of the match
Leandro Trossard BrightonReferee Paul Tierney Attendance 35,771Referee Andre Marriner Attendance 52,281 Referee Jarred GillettReferee Craig Pawson Attendance 20,738 Referee Simon Hooper Attendance 31,243Premier League Saturday’s talking points
Newcastle 0
Liverpool 1
Keïta 19Man of the match
Naby Keïta Liverpool