INSIGHTS FROM GEORGE LAKIN ON KEY LESSONS WOLVES LEARNT FROM DEFEAT AT ARSENAL
1. It isn’t clear whether four at the back actually improves us as an attacking entity
Just like in pre-season, we again saw Lemina dropping into the back line. One consequence of this is that we looked light in midfield, both going forward and in breaking up attacks—because of this, Arsenal consistently got straight at our back line. There were clear warning signs as they created an abundance of chances in the opening 20 minutes.
Possession in the opening 15 minutes was good, despite creating very little, but we still looked shaky playing out from the back and very susceptible to the high press.
The link between defence and midfield seemed to be lacking. Perhaps this was a game for Tommy Doyle rather than Bellegarde? Furthermore, I don’t think Toti or Yerson have the distribution skills of a Dawson et al., hence Lemina dropped into the quarterback role to spray the ball from deep. With this being the case, in retrospect, we might have been asking a little too much from João Gomes.
I’d definitely have had Tommy Doyle in there instead of Bellegarde if we were always going to go four at the back, and gone for a flat 4-3-3. This would have tightened the link between defence and midfield, helped with distribution from deep, and supported João Gomes when Lemina dropped into defence.
Despite lots of endeavour, Arsenal played through our press with relative ease for most of the opening stages, and their 25th-minute opener was deserved. The time and space we afforded Saka to pick out a cross was criminal. You can’t expect not to be punished in that case.
A positive of Bellegarde’s inclusion was that his running offered us something of an outlet, but I fear sometimes his endeavours appear a bit aimless. A player who—from the early signs—seems much more purposeful is Rodrigo Gomes, who, in my opinion, looked our main threat in the attacking line against Arsenal.
Arsenal were creating chances at will from the get-go, but became really dominant possession-wise from the half-hour mark, and it remained that way up until half-time. At this stage, it had become quite unclear what we were trying to do as our press slowed and intensity waned.
But then, against the run of play at the time, Raya was equal to a fantastic Larsen header. Almost out of nothing, it was a great effort and, against lesser teams, he will pose a real threat. He clearly puts himself about and appears to be the focal point we’ve been missing for a while.
Hwang Hee-Chan was really quiet and, in fact, was totally anonymous prior to the excellent cross he swung in for the aforementioned Larsen header. We need more from him.
As expected, we looked far more of an attacking threat when Cunha was on the pitch—any success this season is going to depend heavily on him staying fit. He adds cohesion to our attacks. We had Arsenal penned in for a period shortly after he came on. I don’t think that was a coincidence.
The press started to look more effective, and it almost paid off when a loose ball found its way to Cunha on the edge of the box—but unfortunately, the finish wasn’t there.
Rayan Aït-Nouri also looked a serious threat going forward, and I think we get so much more of that when he’s a wingback and we are three at the back, as opposed to when he’s a fullback in a four. Gary needs to figure out how to get the best out of Rayan in an attacking sense; his abilities going forward are an asset we cannot afford to waste.
2. Our defence looks a little shaky, and a little too easy to play against, with obvious weaknesses that teams will exploit
Toti looked a liability in a back four, let’s be honest. Unfortunately, he’s nowhere near good enough on the ball—summed up by his poor touch that almost allowed Arsenal in before he rectified his error by bringing down his man for a yellow card.
Arsenal continuously found joy down our right-hand side, and Doherty was simply no match for the quick one-twos that were played around him or for Martinelli’s speed and trickery; often, it looked like the Irishman was running through treacle when in a foot race with the Brazilian.
There was one ball—threaded through the gap between Doherty and Mosquera—that was played time and time again by the Gunners, and once they’d got inside our fullback, they were able to pick out a man in the box seemingly at will.
The sooner Semedo is back from suspension, the better, as there simply isn’t the depth in that particular area to be competitive in games when players like Semedo are out. This is one of the biggest issues I have with Bueno’s departure, as I think it gives us the exact same problem on the other side.
Sa’s distribution remains inconsistent and unreliable, which is perhaps a key reason we seem to be in the market for another goalkeeper this summer (whether that comes to fruition or not remains to be seen).
Mosquera looked reasonably assured, but what on earth was that grab of Havertz’s neck all about? He played it out well, seemingly pretending he propelled his arm out with force to keep his balance, but that could have ended very differently, and that’s a side of his game he needs to work on.
In any case, getting to 70 minutes only 1-0 down away at Arsenal gives you a chance—and while we rode our luck at times, it was probably a fair reflection of the game.
But Aït-Nouri didn’t get tight enough on Saka for Arsenal’s second, and again we were guilty of giving someone of his quality too much time and space on the ball in and around the box. I can’t help but think an extra defender in there was the way to go in the game—Aït-Nouri chose to stand off him, but with a free man behind him, we could have doubled up with one pressing tight and the other covering the ball, giving Saka far less time and space for both goals.
The second goal totally took the sting out of the pressure and momentum we had been building and essentially killed the game.
On a final note, how did Dawson not start this game? We looked better both defending and attacking set pieces for the short time that he was on—his distribution and aerial dominance are above any other centre-back at the club. Unfashionable he may be, but highly, highly effective he is. He must start the next game.
3. We don't look like relegation candidates as some pundits predicted pre-season
There is a clear gap between us and the weakest teams in the league, despite some tipping us for relegation.
You saw the difference in quality when you compare this to the Liverpool vs Ipswich game, where Liverpool were totally and utterly dominant in the second half as the gap between the Championship and Premier League told.
This was never the case in our game—we always posed some threat, and Arsenal were never allowed to become totally dominant and camp in our half as we saw with Liverpool and Ipswich.
We know how to hold our own and compete in games against anyone 90% of the time.
The stats back this up: xG was 1.36 for Arsenal and 0.55 for us. So, did Arsenal deserve the win? Absolutely. But we were right there. Compare this to the Ipswich vs Liverpool game, where it was xG 0.28 for Ipswich and 2.51 for Liverpool.
Ultimately, there’s not a huge amount you can read into a season from the opening fixtures, but I think anyone who questioned whether the gulf would be there for all to see again this season (like it was last) has perhaps seen the first indication of an answer in comparing these two fixtures.
This should provide some reassurance for those who worry we might get dragged into a relegation scrap.
I think we are a middling Premier League team now, and that takes years to establish. For us, it has now become a massive advantage—and with wise investment season after season, we ought to be able to comfortably consolidate our Premier League status, making it more and more secure year after year.
4. Yerson Mosquera or Rüdiger-lite? We saw the Colombian is not afraid to deploy the dark arts of defending.
Mosquera is a wind-up merchant—just ask Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz. But in all seriousness, he will need to rein that in a bit, or there will be some disciplinary issues coming his way.
He got lucky this time, but that won’t always be the case, and the uproar his actions caused online means he’ll be on referees’ watchlists from now on.
They won’t stand for those antics going forward, unfortunately, so he needs to watch his step.
On the possibility of retrospective action: Premier League rules state: “For incidents not captured by the match officials or VAR, The FA’s retrospective disciplinary process remains.”
Thankfully for us and Mosquera, VAR did conduct a check, so Mosquera cannot be subjected to a retrospective three-game ban.
5. Gary’s post-game comments were surprisingly very positive coming off the back of a 2-0 defeat
Namely that he ‘was delighted with Mosquera & Toti as a partnership’ and ‘In terms of carrying out the plan, I thought it was really positive’ did concern me slightly. Strange comments, honestly.
Mosquera, in my opinion, would look much better with an experienced head next to him, guiding him through the game, whether in a two or a three. And in all seriousness, it probably reins him in a bit. Going forward, there will inevitably be disciplinary issues if he continues in the vein he did today.
Not sure about the comments regarding the plan being carried out either—unless the plan was to give Saka time and space in and around the penalty area, get punished, and subsequently lose 2-0?
In summary, I think there were positives to be taken from today’s game, as well as some clear signs on how to improve going forward.
I’m sure Gary is along the same thinking and is playing the media game to protect his players, but these comments perhaps paint too rosy a picture to be considered genuine.
Most, I think, would appreciate a more honest reflection—something we’ve seen plenty of from Gary in the past.
I felt really good about our possession, but a little research led me to find that it was roughly equal to what it has been against Arsenal in recent seasons.
All in all, there were signs of life and promise, but I felt our press was only effective sporadically, and too often Arsenal played straight through it, except during perhaps two 10-minute spells.
When it worked, it worked well, and we created chances.
There was a marked improvement in its effectiveness when Cunha entered the fray and marshalled it. Ideally, though, it needs to be much more effective for much more of the game—it’s our first line of defence, after all.
Ultimately, I think Arsenal got at our back line too easily and too often, creating a hatful of opportunities in the opening 20 minutes that set the tone. Despite the glimmers and moments of promise, it was, when all bias is put to one side, the routine Arsenal victory that most neutrals predicted.
We’ve seen multiple carbon copy performances like this against Arsenal during our current Premier League era, so I don’t think it was as positive a display as O’Neil made out in his post match reflections. And I do feel, to some degree, the set-up of the team played into Arsenal’s favour.
