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Hello! Forty-three goals in one Champions League evening. But we need to speak about the best back line in Europe.
On the way:
Arsenal firing: Arteta’s side click in attack while defensive data is ridiculous
(Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
Much attention will be given this morning to the front end of Arsenal’s team. Last night’s 4-0 Champions League rout of Atletico Madrid epitomised their attack: set pieces paying off, Gabriel Martinelli scoring again, Viktor Gyokeres (‘Call me Bane’) applying the coup de graces.
Atletico held out for almost an hour, but once the dam burst at the Emirates, they were swept away in all of 11 minutes. There’s a lot to admire about the way Arsenal pile forward when they’re in the mood. All the same, we need to talk about what’s going on at the back because the club’s defensive stats are bordering on the ridiculous.
They registered with me last week when The Athletic’s alternative Premier League table explained how Arsenal had conceded six fouls in seven league games inside their own defensive third. That’s extremely impressive in a division so fast and furious. Since then, they’ve beaten Fulham without conceding and Atletico without conceding. They’re impossibly impenetrable.
Here are the numbers that matter in late October: Arsenal have played 12 times across three different competitions. They’ve conceded three times and, as yet, not once in Europe. Chelsea’s seemingly untouchable record of 15 concessions in 38 Premier League fixtures in 2004-05 might not be quite as untouchable as it seems. Mikel Arteta’s side are tracking towards 14.
There’s a famous quote often attributed to Sir Alex Ferguson: attacks win games, but defences win titles. He wasn’t wrong. And it’s the ice-cold nature of Arsenal’s defensive framework that is making them look a bigger threat than ever — on multiple fronts.
A night of 43 goals
We can legitimately classify yesterday in the Champions League as a goalfest. Forty-three finishes in nine matches — no kidding — was an average of almost five a game; basically unprecedented. Paris Saint-Germain scored seven. Barcelona and PSV scored six (PSV gave Napoli such a battering that the Italians are still looking for their teeth). Arsenal, Borussia Dortmund and Inter helped themselves to four.
Ironically, the only blank contest was between Kairat and Pafos, two teams who absolutely did not want a goalless draw. They’re lodged in the league stage’s elimination places. But the flood of strikes set TAFC the challenge of trying to pick the best of them — and I had to go with Newcastle’s second in a 3-0 win over Benfica, polished off by Harvey Barnes after this beast of an assist from goalkeeper Nick Pope, below, set him on his way.
Ronaldo legacy
Real Madrid versus Juventus is the best of tonight’s match-ups, and it got James Horncastle thinking and writing about one of football’s more eye-catching transfers: Cristiano Ronaldo from the Bernabeu to Juve for a cool £86m ($115m) in 2018.
Ronaldo is long gone from Juve, but, as James outlines, the legacy of his transfer isn’t. He and the Serie A side are embroiled in a legal case related to a salary reduction agreement put in place at Juve during the Covid-19 pandemic. Ronaldo claims he is owed more than £17m. An attempt by Juve to see him off by paying him half of that amount failed. The 40-year-old has the wealth of a king, but in this business, money is money.
News round-up
- Juve Stabia, a team in Italy’s Serie B who are based near Naples, have been placed under judicial administration over alleged mafia links. Italian prosecutors and police claim the club “became a tool of the Camorra”. Not something you read every day.
- Sergino Dest was benched for PSV’s victory over Napoli after showing up late for their pre-match prep. “If you’re not on time, you know the consequences,” said manager Peter Bosz.
- It’s gone well for Vincent Kompany at Bayern Munich, and his reward is a new contract to 2029. He’s made light work of the Bundesliga. The bigger task for him is to make a real splash in the Champions League.
- A young player to keep an eye on: Harry Gray at Leeds United. The 17-year-old forward has signed his first professional contract there. He’s going to be good.
- At the other end of the spectrum, Sergio Ramos is looking to extend his deal with Monterrey in Mexico. That would take him beyond the age of 40.
Miami match off: ‘Insufficient time’ to organise Barca vs Villarreal Liga game for December
Colour us shocked. News arrives from Adam Crafton that the controversial plan to hold a La Liga clash between Villarreal and Barcelona in Miami has been shelved, for now. Scratch December 20 from your diaries.
The promoter behind the U.S. event, Relevent Sports, says there is “insufficient time” to organise it. That sounds like a euphemism for “overwhelming opposition in La Liga’s own back yard”. Only yesterday, Real Madrid’s Thibaut Courtois took a dig at La Liga, accusing it of “manipulation” by trying to prevent footage of player protests against the Miami proposal from being broadcast over the weekend.
In fairness to Relevent, it did concede that “uncertainty in Spain” was making a December date impossible. We’ll wait to see what its next move is. All that can be said for sure is that La Liga and others pushing league matches in foreign climes have sorely underestimated the strength of feeling about their intentions. The postponement is a win for democratic process.
MLS Awards: It’s more than just Messi – but why so many post-season games?
(Design: Demetrius Robinson. Photos: Rich Storry, Dilip Vishwanat, Dustin Markland, Jeff Dean/Getty Images)
You’d be forgiven for thinking that Major League Soccer is a little predictable. Lionel Messi finished the regular season as leading goalscorer. Lionel Messi finished joint-top for assists. Lionel Messi, as Tom Bogert rightly says, will be named the league’s MVP.
But away from he who will not grow old, MLS has enjoyed some healthy underdog spirit. Philadelphia Union’s ride to the Supporters’ Shield was unexpected. That’s putting it mildly. San Diego’s inaugural campaign could yet end with an MLS Cup. Vancouver Whitecaps’ performance is their best on record, which is why Mr Bogert picked out Jesper Sorensen as his coach of the year.
What Tom found challenging was choosing a single MLS XI, given that a solitary line-up with positional limits makes it tough to paint the full story of the season. He thinks the league would do right by naming two or three line-ups. My own suggestion to MLS ahead of tonight’s play-in round (and I’ve banged this drum before) would be to slim down the post-season. Eighteen participants are too many. A six-week schedule is too long. Let’s up the jeopardy.
Around TAFC
- The best attacking unit in the Premier League, according to expected goals (xG) calculations, above, are none other than Crystal Palace. Look out for those low crosses through the box.
- For close followers of MLS, this is well worth keeping on top of: Tom Bogert’s roster tracker. After five wins apiece, I’m assuming we might see some ruthless action at the two Uniteds, D.C. and Atlanta.
- And those who keep tabs on the USL Championship will be interested to read about ex-USMNT star Brian McBride becoming general manager at Brooklyn FC.
- There’s some cracking insight here into why Nottingham Forest went for Sean Dyche as head coach, instead of options such as Roberto Mancini and Marco Silva. Mancini is described as a man who “would start fires everywhere”.
- Most clicked in Tuesday’s TAFC: the non-League manager’s alcohol rant.
Catch a match
(Selected games, times ET/UK)
UEFA Champions League (all 3pm/8pm unless stated, and all TNT Sports in UK): Galatasaray vs Bodo/Glimt, 12.45pm/5.45pm — CBS, Paramount+, Amazon Prime, ViX; Bayern Munich vs Club Brugge — CBS, Paramount+, Fubo, DAZN; Chelsea vs Ajax, Eintracht Frankfurt vs Liverpool, Monaco vs Tottenham Hotspur — all Paramount+, ViX; Real Madrid vs Juventus — Paramount+, DAZN.
Championship: Sheffield Wednesday vs Middlesbrough, 3pm/8pm — Paramount+/Sky Sports.
MLS: Play-in round: Chicago Fire vs Orlando City, 8.30pm/1.30am; Portland Timbers vs Real Salt Lake, 10.30pm/3.30am — both MLS Season Pass/Apple TV.
And finally…
Back in the day, footballers at all levels would be told to “let them know you’re there early”. This was code that meant: plant a first tackle on your opponent with force somewhere between broken bones and amputation. Draw the battle lines straight away.
Pafos’ Joao Correia went old school in following that advice to the letter last night, poleaxing Kairat’s Luis Mata, above, and earning a red card after all of three minutes. Correia is a Cape Verde international, so the Hulk Hogan ‘Big Boot’ could be coming to a World Cup venue near you soon…
