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Opinion
As the march toward normality commenced with the re-start of the Premier League, it wasn’t all glitz and glamour.
With tech failures, social distancing, no VAR, controversies, injuries, poor crowd noise, corporate tokenism, a complicated new substitution rule and a traditional David Luiz brain snap, I can understand why some fans wanted to see the season finish and re-start next year.
However, it was great to have the football back, as I appreciate the effort it must have taken to recommence the season during this pandemic. Plus, Liverpool need their title and Leeds United need to finally be welcomed back into the Premier League.
If I’m allowed to moan about one thing, it needs to be the crowd noise. While other codes and leagues have managed to make artificial fan atmospheres a truly unique COVID-19 sporting experience, the Premier League got lazy and just settled for generic fan white noise, making the second muted channel option preferable.
The first game, Aston Villa vs Sheffield United, was a gritty and lacklustre affair. The gritty holding style of Sheffield was to be expected and Aston Villa’s first-half midfield fight made it a clash for the purists. Although I was expecting one or two goals in this game, the Premier League would have to wait for the second game to get its inaugural restart goal.
Honourable mentions in this game go to John Lundstram, Sander Berge, Billy Sharp, Keinan Davis and goal-line technology.
However, the much-anticipated Arsenal vs Manchester City match quality wasn’t much better; both teams clearly lacked match fitness and showed signs of rustiness.
The Mentor vs Student hype lived up to its booking, with controversial calls, player collisions, injuries, the annual Luiz brain snap, and the much anticipated first premier league recommencement goal. The difference between both clubs was clear; a sharp classy Premiership and European contender in Manchester City, against a new build with a first-time manager that looked like a mid-table club in Arsenal.
In typical Arsenal fashion, tragedy struck within the first five minutes with Granit Xhaka rolling his ankle. Despite the setback, the Gunners looked promising for the first 20-30 minutes, looking to match City in the midfield with their sprightly youngsters.
The class difference between the two clubs was soon realised when the out of form Raheem Sterling found the back of the net. It was clear Mikel Arteta’s attacking press was heavily dependent on the holding presence of Xhaka and Matteo Guendouzi teaming together, with the fast-paced backs to finish off attacks on the wing.
Once Pablo Mari reinjured himself and David Luiz was subbed on, the visitors were in trouble. Luckily, goalkeeper Bernd Leno saved Arsenal from complete humiliation and gets their only honourable mention.
However, I must make exceptions for Arsenal’s youngsters in Bukayo Saka, Joe Willock and Eddie Nketiah. If I were Arteta, I would be looking to the use rest of the season as an experiment and focus on developing these players and give them regular game time to fine-tune their attack options and help them become household names.
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