Tierney's role reversal
It's perhaps weird to think that if Kieran Tierney had missed three games last season, Arsenal would most likely have found themselves in a position where they would have lost all three. The Scottish international missed much of preseason due to injury and conspired to be absent from the starting XI for all three of the Gunners' opening three games, but with the arrival of Oleksandr Zinchenko Arsenal found themselves in a position to cope unlike in years gone by.
However, when the news filtered through just before kick off the the Ukraine international was going to be absent as a precautionary measure due to a sprained knee, questions began to be asked. They were not necessarily over the quality of Zinchenko's replacement. Tierney after all, has been one of the most important players in the Arsenal squad for years now and his absence at the business end of last season is arguably what cost them Champions League qualification,
However, the way Zinchenko has interpreted the left back role has been night and day when compared to what Tierney used to do. While the former Celtic man was your traditional overlapping full back who ran to the byline and looked to cross every time, Zinchenko was essentially a number 10 with a strong team ethic who had been co-opted into forming an integral part of the Arsenal build up.
READ MORE: Every word Mikel Arteta said on Odegaard's display, Gabriel's tunraround and Arsenal maturity
The thought therefore when Tierney came into the side, was that Arsenal would adapt there tactics somewhat to suit the introduction of a totally different player. Granit Xhaka had been playing an aggressively offensive box-to-box role, but with Tierney in the side surely he would revert to the more withdrawn position he had played in much of the early part of Mikel Arteta's reign.
However, as the game went on it became abundantly clear that Tierney was being asked to do a totally different role to what he was used to. The 24-year-old spent much of his game infield trying to be an extra passing option in possession rather than contributing to the attack. In fact when Gabriel made his error for the goal (more on that later) Tierney was almost directly in front of him due to the inverted role that he had been asked to play.
It seems strange to think, but despite being a left back, Zinchenko has revolutionised the way Arsenal build from the back and control games. The early signs against Fulham are that Tierney won't be able to replicate this. Whether Arteta seeks to tweak his tactics to accommodate that against Aston Villa on Wednesday remains to be seen.
Arsenal's close connection sees them come through
Arsenal's inability to come from behind last season was a well worn trope that the Gunners failed to ever rise above. Only Norwich had a worse record in the Premier League from losing positions than Mikel Arteta's side who managed just four points after falling behind in 2021/22.
The start to the season has been fantastic for Arsenal, but if there's one criticism that can be levelled at them, it's that they've not had to deal with any moments of adversity. However, as Aleksandar Mitrovic put Fulham in front, the Gunners found themselves in a position that could easily have triggered flashbacks to last year.
In many ways this bore the hallmarks of Arsenal's only victory from behind last season against Wolves where a catastrophic error from Gabriel had gifted the opposition the lead. This time though, having supported William Saliba through his own goal against Leicester, the Emirates crowd rose again to support their other centre back.
The Brazilian popped up with the wining goal on the day for personal vindication, but it was clear that the 60,000 inside the stadium would have been behind him no matter what happened. This was embodied by Martin Odegaard who ran straight over to Gabriel to celebrate after scoring the equaliser.
Speaking about what had changed from last season in his post-match press conference, Mikel Arteta revealed that the concoction of an increased maturity from his team, and an improved connection with their fans had conspired to give them the win.
"We’ve grown up," he said. "We have more alternatives, I think we have matured as well. Playing in front of these supporters helps because they are driving you as well and then it’s about belief. A lot of that is about belief and confidence that you can do it and now we have that."
The atmosphere throughout the afternoon and early evening was electric at the Emirates and that is no coincidence. While others externally may criticise the joyous scenes that greeted the full time whistle, there can be little doubting that the improved bond between players and supporters has pushed Arsenal on the extra inch required to preserve their early status as Premier League leaders.
Arsenal find their plan B
Speaking of close connections, if there was one man who looked like he had full bars after coming on to the pitch it was Eddie Nketiah. The 23-year-old was thrown on relatively early doors by Mikel Arteta's standards and most definitely made a difference.
Where Arsenal had found themselves somewhat tepid and predictable up front, Nketiah brought an element of chaos that Fulham found hard to deal with. His running in behind forced caused his erstwhile teammate Bernd Leno plenty of issues that had been alien to him early on in the game, and had he been willing take Martin Odegaard's delightful floated ball first time on his head then the England under-21 international may well have been the hero on the day.
What's clear though is that Nketiah is a gamechanger if he needs to be. Whereas in previous seasons the Hale Ender's cameos have seemed either overly keen to impress or underly prepared to physically make an impact, Nketiah now looks like a player capable of making an impact off the bench.
This in itself is no coincidence. If you look back to preseason, playing Nketiah and Gabriel Jesus together was something Arteta was keen to workshop in order to find an alternative attacking solution for his side.
"They have everything we need," Arteta said of his two number nines. "First of all they are very intense, both of them. The way they can press, the way they can sustain pressure with the opponent is great. Both of them can threaten in behind, which can allow people to have space inside. They are really good in link-up play and they both have an eye for goal which is what nines do. But they are not 195cm, they have other qualities. But for the way we play, they are fantastic."
The thinness of Arsenal's squad was undoubtedly an issue for them last season and had they had more depth then maybe Arsenal would have been concerned about the Wednesday-Saturday turnaround instead of the Thursday-Sunday obstacle course. However, with Nketiah chief among the options the Gunners have to impose themselves on difficult situations in football matches, they look once again capable of dealing with the inevitable difficulties this season has to throw at them.
Odegaard lives up to the armband
After slightly anonymous displays in his first two games of the season, the jury was bizarrely out on Martin Odegaard. Many Arsenal fans began panicking about his lack of impact, but with two goals against Bournemouth the Norwegian put those thoughts to bed. Now with the security of that performance under his belt, Odegaard suddenly looked like a man capable of doing almost anything against Fulham.
It's a well-known narrative that the 23-year-old is enjoying finally becoming one of the main men after living a relatively nomadic existence in the early part of his career at club level. On Saturday though we saw that well and truly come to fruition.
It became apparent very early on that Odegaard had no interest in getting anything other than the three points from this match. While the rest of the Arsenal side were tepid in the first half, the former Real Madrid man could be seen barking at William Saliba to stride out of defence and marshalling his troops into position after Kieran Tierney overhit a freekick.
Even when the Gunners dropped a goal down the Norwegian was impressively defiant. His sprint over to Gabriel after his equaliser in order to exorcise the Brazilian of the demons of his earlier mistake was proof of what a team player Odegaard is.
That intensity and will to win quickly began to spread throughout the Emirates Stadium so that for that last 30 minutes of the match it seemed as though the game was in the final three minutes of extra time. This kind of performance in the face of adversity is exactly why he was seen as the man who Mikel Arteta thought was right to inherit the captain's armband from Alexandre Lacazette.
"Influence, and in difficult moments, take the ball," said the Spaniard to football.london when asked about Odegaard's display on the day. "That’s what he’s done."
While leaders like Tony Adams and Patrick Vieira are what Arsenal are used to, having a man willing turn up when the odds are against them is something the Gunners have been lacking. It's taken him a while to fully immerse himself in the role, but with his display on Saturday Martin Odegaard showed he is more than ready to lead this prodigious young Arsenal side on their upward trajectory.
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