Premier League talking points: Arteta’s identity crisis; Man United’s schizophrenia; do Spurs care about Kane?

Johnny Nicholson examines the weekend's Premier League talking points

Chelsea’s Cesar Azpilicueta (left) and Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka battle for the ball during the Premier League match at Emirates Stadium. Picture: Nick Potts/PA Wire

Hail César!

For most of the game against Arsenal on Sunday, Chelsea looked like someone’s big brother holding their much younger sibling off with a palm to the forehead. Ironically, they didn’t play as well as they could, nowhere near, in fact. But then, that was not required. 

Like all vastly superior teams, you never felt for a moment they were going to lose the game. However, for all this was billed as the big debut for Romelu Lukaku, and all the focus was on him, it was César Azpilicueta who really impressed in blue, snuffing out so many of Arsenal’s nascent attacking moves. Indeed, he often goes about his work a little off the radar, as defenders all too often are. But the Spaniard is a class act who sees danger early and acts to negate it. Reece James on the opposite side was no less efficient. 

On this evidence, they will beat sides a lot better than Arsenal this season.

Arsenal: A new manager may not fix things but....

They were massively second best and were rightly booed off at the Emirates on Sunday. There was a time, not so long ago really, when Arsenal v Chelsea was a match-up of equals. Not any more. The slide for one of English football’s Big Six into mid-table mediocrity, albeit one with an elite wage bill, has gained pace on Mikel Arteta’s watch. It may have happened whoever was in charge, but he has to own his share of the blame. There is zero tactical identity.

They played better against Chelsea than they did against Brentford, they might have had a penalty in the first half, Emile Smith-Rowe is a bright and creative player. Rob Holding should’ve scored in the second half but even so, Chelsea beat them without really having to try very hard. It looked like a lower league team playing a top team in a cup game; the result just as inevitable.

Champions League football for Arsenal now seems as unlikely as it does for Newcastle. The players are just nowhere near good enough; Pepe a pathetic waste of £72m. Blame has to be laid at the absentee ownership, but the club conned themselves into employing an inexperienced coach based on his reputation as a player (rarely a good idea) and on having worked with Pep Guardiola. It was a naive decision that has backfired. He apparently has until December to save his job, but December looks a long, long way away. A new manager won’t fix this, that will take a new owner with vision for a pathway back to the top. But without a new owner, the only option is to get rid of Arteta and try someone who might not know Guardiola, but might be better at... well, everything.

Burnley traditions

If such things press your buttons, Burnley’s 1-11 team sheet with everyone playing in the correct positions was a traditionalist’s dream. They’re often painted in the media as though financially they’re more akin to Hartlepool United than a perennially top-flight outfit. 

Manager, Sean Dyche is likewise constantly made out to be impoverished, managing the football club on a shoestring, a role he happily plays up to. However, the facts say Burnley have had well over £500m from the Premier League alone, add sponsorships and other income and you’re looking at a club who have had about three quarters of a billion English pounds through its bank account since 2016. Dyche himself picks up the thick end of £300K per month. 

While he’s done a great job in keeping the club in the top flight, this doesn’t take away the fact that Burnley have not been short of cash and the choice not to spend big on players - £15m is their record fee paid - is exactly that; a choice, not a necessity. Let’s have no more of this pretence at poverty. Their frugality in an age of grotesque excess should be celebrated not bemoaned.

Harvey Elliot comes of age

In May 2019, Harvey Elliot became the youngest player to play in the Premier League, aged 16 years and 30 days when he turned out for Fulham. Signed by Liverpool, he’s the youngest player to ever play for Liverpool at Anfield. 

He was sent out on a season-long loan to Blackburn last year and impressed mightily being nominated for the EFL Young Player of the Season. He finished the 2020-21 season with seven assists, the most ever recorded in a single season by a teenager in the EFL Championship. He also was awarded goal of the season for his strike against Millwall. He turned 18 in April and Saturday saw him play a substantial game against Burnley. He fitted right into the system almost perfectly, assisted the assist for a fantastic second goal and played assertively throughout. 

Safe to say he won’t be on loan in the coming season, but will take his place in Liverpool’s first team more often. His development shows that you don’t always have to buy your way to success with a £100m transfer.

Man City shouldn’t even be in the same league as Norwich City

When Man City scored in the 7th minute against Norwich, it was time for the neutral to check out. When one of the big rich teams scores early against a team with a fraction of their resources, there is only one way the game is going to go. 

The degree of competition that a side like Norwich City can offer is very limited. They didn’t play badly, but were just not good enough. Their owners have a £20-£25m fortune, Man City’s approximately £17bn, his family a further trillion. Nothing illustrates the competitive dysfunction of the Premier League better than such a fixture. 

There is limited interest in this sort of one-sided football and that is limited to City fans and even the more open-minded of them must feel this is far from a premium product, more akin to exhibition than competition.

Leeds honour their legends in the right way

Leeds play such a direct open game that they’re always liable to take a beating, but equally they’re always likely to entertain on their way to a big win or, as against Everton, a hard-earned draw. This was a blood and thunder affair that demanded you leave your cynicism about modern football at the gate.

If Everton feared their new boss would be defensive and dull, this surely must wash those blues away. In Demari Gray they have a real live wire who, now aged 25, after a stop-start career that has taken in Birmingham, Leicester, and Bayer Leverkusen, has something to prove. He seemed to be given a free role on Saturday, which sounds very un-Rafa-esque.

If the game was a tribute to the members of Don Revie’s dominant team of the 60s and early 70s who passed away in the last year, then it was one they would’ve loved. All it lacked was a fight between two senior hard men and a manager in a sheepskin coat. This was a gloves off, stripped to the waist, fighting on the cobbles at closing-time sort of game. A game to really get you up and off your bucket.

A great goal and poor refereeing at Villa Park

There are few better sites in football than a perfectly executed overhead kick. Danny Ings first Villa strike couldn’t have been better, that it was set up by Tyrone Mings was a gift to headline writers. However, the Callum Wilson offside decision which ruled out the penalty awarded for the Villa keeper’s attempted decapitation of Wilson, was in the now great tradition of ludicrous VAR calls. 

Mike Riley’s famous ‘thicker’ lines didn’t seem to apply here, and there was no advantage gained by Wilson’s toe being offside. It was one that we’d have all said “looks about on, that” and Newcastle were right to feel aggrieved. Referee David Coote wore a nervous expression throughout, reduced to little more than an empty vessel, doing what he was told to do. 

VAR has managed to spoil games, make refs lack confidence in their own observations, and has made decisions impossible to discern with the naked eye. That’s why the vast majority of fans still want VAR outlawed, Steve Bruce understandably, is one of them.

Man United’s schizophrenia

It’s a defining element of the Ole era that Manchester United can go from zero to hero back to zero, often within one half. This is why it is impossible to know if the side has what it takes to win anything. When they click, they are irresistible, as with the goal Mason Greenwood scored against Southampton in the second half. 

After a poor, disconnected first period, they came out after half-time, looked dangerous and scored. Then, just as everyone, including the home fans thought they were in for a bit of a caning, United seemed to take the foot off the gas, started passing sideways and allowed the Saints back into the game. By the end, they could have lost. 

Jadon Sancho came on and, as many players do, looked better before he had played. This isn’t his fault. When you see a player almost entirely in highlight reels, it condenses and concentrates the player’s brilliance. Reality always dilutes fantasy.

Brighton might be this season’s dark horse

Brighton’s bright and fluid form of football has them, in these very early days, near the top of the table. They seem a more cohesive and full-functioning unit this season and at this point, it doesn’t seem too fanciful to see them progress into the top 10. 

With Yves Bissouma they have a wonderful progressive midfielder who seems to play on the tips of his toes, always on the move, capable of receiving, controlling, and distributing the ball in one movement that is closer to dancing than football. His first move is more often than not forward. Time and again he took the ball from the front of the defensive third and got another attack underway. It was a tremendous performance. 

Graham Potter’s post-match interview - complete with polar explorer’s beard - was an articulate and thoughtful dissection of the game. He is an impressive figure and it is not hard to imagine him in charge of a far bigger club sooner rather than later.

Do Spurs care about Kane?

He came on for 18 minutes, missed a one-on-one and, in many people’s eyes, looked diminished by recent events. From golden boy to silly boy, the distasteful entitlement displayed over the potential transfer, the pathetic, whiney client journalism in the Daily Telegraph last week, the ridiculous story in the Mirror last month about deal being done for £160m, both no doubt placed by his grinning brother, who looks some distance from professional, has all served to make many side more with Daniel Levy than the striker. That in itself is remarkable.

While the fans haven’t been especially hostile towards Kane, as a team, Spurs do not look worse without him. Given his prolific goals total, that is remarkable. Dele Alli actually seems significantly improved, having won and scored a penalty against Wolves.

There seems little doubt he will be sold before the end of the month, but Kane won’t be seen as a squeaky clean, shiny old-fashioned loyal footballer any more.

Rather, his legacy will be one of being self-serving, entitled, and stupidly employing a family member to do his bidding.