Arsenal could be charged by the FA
for failing to control their supporters
after some fans threw toilet rolls and
bottles at Rodri in the 2-1 home
defeat by Manchester City.
Arsenal fans were already angry
that the City midfielder had escaped
a booking for a series of fouls and thatAuthorities
GARY JACOBArsenal’s clash with Manchester
City was packed with incidents,
the most contentious being the
two penalty shouts, one for each
side, that went in City’s favour.
In real time, Ederson’s
challenge on Martin Odegaard
seemed a good case for a
penalty, but Arsenal can have
no complaints. Stuart Attwellbelieved Ederson won the ball
and there was no evidence
supporting a clear and obvious
error. Despite multiple anglesand slow-motion replays we still
could not be certain whether
Ederson clipped the ball with his
heel just before Odegaard gotthere. The extent of debate over
whether this was a foul shows
that the threshold for an
overturn was not reached.Attwell should have followed
the same protocol once he
rejected Bernardo Silva’s penalty
claim, even though Granit Xhaka
pulls Silva’s shirt. It may have
been a foul in isolation, but in
the context of the game Attwell
should not have been sent to
the monitor. Again, there was
not enough evidence for a clear
and obvious error, so it appears
the video assistant’s tolerance
level lowered during the game.
Both on-field decisions should
have been maintained without
technology intervening. The
lack of consistency is VAR’s
biggest problem and a simpler
definition of “clear and obvious”
that does not change mid-match
must be established.PETER
WA LTO N
The expert view
Former Premier
League refereeVAR should have rejected both penalty shouts, not only one
Ederson collides with Odegaard — no penalty Xhaka’s shirt pull on Silva — spot kick awardedIt was late in the game and the ten
men of Arsenal were pushed back,
but the energy and desire of
Thomas Partey remained
undiminished.
The Arsenal midfielder
stretched to control a pass and
drove 50 yards into the
Manchester City penalty
area, pulling the home
fans at the Emirates
Stadium to their feet.
Partey delayed his
pass to try to pick out
Gabriel Martinelli,
but the forward’s run
was a fraction slow and
Aymeric Laporte cut out
the cross.
It was an example of
the dynamism that made
signing Partey a key piece
in Mikel Arteta’s revolution
at Arsenal and capped what
was his most commanding
performance for the club.
In August Arsenal lost 5-0 to
City at the Etihad Stadium, their
third straight league defeat at the
start of the season. It says much for
the speed of the turnaround in north
London that in the absence of Arteta,
who was missing from the touchline
after testing positive for Covid, his
side were disappointed not to have
beaten the league leaders.
Arteta envisaged Partey as the
midfield anchor, capable of exerting
GARY JACOB
control in tight central areas, and
that is what he provided on
Saturday. It is a shame that this
type of display has not been the
norm since his move 15 months
ago from Atletico Madrid —
where he was nicknamed “The
Octopus” for his ability to
steal back possession —
and that it came just
before he departs for
up to five weeks with
Ghana for the Africa
Cup of Nations.
Here, he neutralised the
in-form Bernardo Silva
and got on with the
sweaty stuff of pressing
Rodri and Kevin
De Bruyne. He won
the ball back
eight times.
As his confidence
grew, there were
nice touches and neat
turns to escape tight spaces, a
lofted ball for Bukayo Saka to
give chase past Nathan Aké
and an early part in the move
that led to the goal.
This was the performance
that he and Arsenal had been
waiting for. Only a few weeks
ago the 28-year-old had
acknowledged as much whenSaka has scored four goals in
his past three Arsenal startshe graded his performances thus far
as four out of ten.
“There are moments I can really
hurt the other team, but there are
also moments where I allow myself to
lose focus, and that’s when everything
goes down,” Partey said.
Quite why he loses focus he did
not explain. No doubt hamstring and
ankle niggles have played a part.
Arsenal would not have banked on
him missing 21 matches given that he
was rarely absent in the three seasons
before he left the Spanish capital.
He has not been helped by Granit
Xhaka’s two-month layoff, meaning
that the pair have struggled to build a
central-midfield partnership. Partey
has improved since Xhaka returned
on December 6; the defensive pair
have formed a good understanding
with the creative midfielder Martin
Odegaard, who has been producing
ample opportunities for team-mates
in recent weeks.
Perhaps it has taken time for
Arteta’s words to sink in. The Spaniard
told Partey to forget the comparisons
with the club’s former captain Patrick
Vieira, with whom Partey shares a
rangy, powerful style. It is a tag that
has been slapped on almost every
central midfielder to join Arsenal
since the Frenchman left in 2005.
“I told him he has to take the
pressure from himself because he has
the qualities to play in every team
and he is starting to understand that,”Partey proves he can
anchor Arteta’s side
Xhaka said of Partey last week. “He is
starting to understand that and is
doing much better.”
But results come down to small
details. Partey was slow to track the
run of Rodri, and when the ball
fell loose in the third minute of
second-half stoppage time the City
midfielder swept home the winner.
Partey stretched out his hand to
pick up Takehiro Tomiyasu and Ben
White, who were lying, deflated, on
the pitch.
On Thursday Arsenal play Liverpool
in the first leg of their Carabao Cup
semi-final tie, for which they will be
without the suspended Gabriel. Their
next league fixture is against an
improving Tottenham Hotspur side
also hunting down a top-four spot.
They will go into those games with
more confidence than they would
have done only weeks ago. Partey,
though, will be replaced by Albert
Sambi Lokonga, who is a promising
talent but has hardly played since he
endured a difficult time in the 4-0
defeat by Liverpool in November.
Something is stirring at Arsenal.
It is not often that the players are
cheered off after a defeat.
On Saturday they benefited from
targeting City’s weakness at full back,
where Aké, a centre back, was filling
in, and uncomfortable against Saka.
Left back has been a troubled
position since Pep Guardiola took
charge and Benjamin Mendy, signed
at great expense and at present in
custody facing charges of rape, has
spent more time unavailable for
selection than on the pitch.
City, for all their resources, have
been reduced to fudging the problem,
playing Fabian Delph, Laporte,
Danilo, João Cancelo or Oleksandr
Zinchenko in the role. City were
exposed at times, but Guardiola’s
method — advancing his full backs to
add value to the attack — helped to
turn a weak spot into a strength.
Aké cleared off the line at a crucial
time and City escaped to win an 11th
straight league game.
“It teaches us that you have to
believe until the last minute,” Rodri
said. “We were clever in the small
details. For me, that is the good point
of the day.”Arsenal
Saka 31^1RATINGS
Arsenal (4-2-3-1) A Ramsdale 7 — T Tomiyasu 8,
B White 8, Gabriel 7, K Tierney 7 — T Partey 9,
G Xhaka 7 — B Saka 8 (for M Elneny 84min),
M Odegaard 7 (R Holding 63, 6), G Martinelli 7 —
A Lacazette 7 (E Smith Rowe 71, 6). Booked
Xhaka, Saka, Holding, Gabriel. Sent off Gabriel.
Man City (4-3-3) Ederson 6 — J Cancelo 5,
R Dias 6, A Laporte 6, N Aké 6 — B Silva 6,
Rodri 6, K De Bruyne 6 — R Mahrez 6,
G Jesus 6 (I Gundogan, 63 6), R Sterling 7.
Booked Rodri, Silva.
Referee S Attwell. Attendance 59,757.Manchester City
Mahrez 57 (pen), Rodri 90+3^2City’s Rodri fires home to deny Arsenal, who were deserving of at least a pointCATHERINE IVILL/GETTY IMAGES9
Partey won nine of
his 15 duels during
the match5
And he completed
five of his six
attempted take-ons8 1GG Monday January 3 2022 | the times
thegame
8
Times he recovered
the ball