Ahead of his 13th North London Derby as an Arsenal manager or player, Mikel Arteta thought the team talk needed something fresh, arresting. So he turned to the club’s longtime photographer, Stuart MacFarlane. He’s a familiar face to gamers. His job means he knows their faces intimately.
So, last September, MacFarlane stood in front of the tactical board in the Emirates Stadium dressing room and addressed the players. He spoke as a fan, emotional, urgent, gritty in part of his language, explaining what this match meant to his fellow supporters gathered in the seats above.
On the faces he knows so well, he saw a mix of reactions to his words: clenched-jawed smiles, deep, focused gazes. Not all footballers are alike, but something was sparked by the unusual device Arteta chose to motivate them. In the 34th minute, Arsenal were leading 3-0 against Tottenham Hotspur.
Arteta is unlikely to ask MacFarlane to give a speech on Saturday, when Spurs visit for the first derby of a very different autumn. New tricks tend to only have a one-time impact, and what’s more, the mood of Arsenal players needs less of a sudden, surprising boost.
Prior to the equivalent game last year, a poor start to the campaign had left Arsenal in the bottom half of the Premier League table. In September, Arsenal are top and, if they repeat last season’s home triumph over Spurs – they finished 3-1 – they would be four points clear of second-placed Manchester City.
From this lofty vantage point, Arsenal fans dare to anticipate at least one top four that would bring Champions League football to their elegant stadium for the first time since 2017, a time when team talks were still being fought. by the cerebral Arsène Wenger.
Arteta learned a lot from Wenger, as an Arsenal midfielder for five years when top-four finishes were routine, but he wears his passion on his sleeve more obviously than his French mentor.
He could barely hide his disappointment when, in his last showdown with Spurs, the possibility of a fourth-place finish, or better, vanished. That derby in May had none of the MacFarlane-boosted Arsenal energy of last season’s home game. It was her mirror opposite.
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Spurs were leading 3-0 by the second minute of the second half; Arsenal played an hour with 10 men following Rob Holding’s red card. The result put Spurs ahead in the race for Champions League access, and all that that entails in terms of revenue and the ability to attract signings.
Arsenal are not in Europe this season, and Arteta would be entitled to claim some credit for persuading several of Arsenal’s summer signings that as they joined a club that may not be in the Champions League this season , he had the momentum, the manager, and the conviction to be in the most prestigious competition in Europe next September.
Oleksandr Zinchenko and Gabriel Jesus are seasoned serial champions from their Manchester City careers – from where they knew Arteta, a former Pep Guardiola number two – and they believed it. Just like Fabio Vieira, who joined Porto, where participation in the Champions League was a matter of course for the 22-year-old.
Tottenham could meanwhile guarantee a seasoned European campaigner like Ivan Perisic, hired from Inter Milan, midweek nights at attention to the UEFA anthem. They shopped in a summer market with similar goals to their London neighbours.
Both Perisic and Zinchenko are versatile left-sided midfielders who can operate at the back; Yves Bissouma, who joined Spurs from Brighton, is, like Vieira, a very promising midfielder. Richarlison, signed from Everton, is a Brazilian striker of technique and energy – just like Gabriel Jesus.
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The former City striker has been a superb addition, with his four goals and three assists so far, and for his aggressiveness and leadership qualities. Richarlison has been on the bench for Spurs on all but two Premier League matches so far. But in the duel for Brazil’s endorsement, Richarlison leads his compatriot.
National team manager Tite this month picked Richarlison to lead Brazil’s attack in two World Cup warm-up games, and kicked the in-form Jesus from his squad.
Richarlison quickly netted his seventh goal in six appearances for Brazil. Gabriel Jesus’ last competitive goal in national colors was in 2019, there are 15 appearances.
The Arsenal man can still be selected for Qatar if he maintains his club form. Matches such as Saturday’s high-pressure derby have to make their case.
His duel with Richarlison, if and when Spurs manager Antonio Conte calls the forward in action, will be watched by Tite, while the local club’s official photographer will keep his lens trained on Arsenal’s number nine.
Updated: September 30, 2022, 02:43