Premier League Week 2 roundtable
In Week 2 of the Premier League, Paul Pogba made his long-awaited second Manchester United debut, Arsenal struggled to a goalless draw against Leicester and Everton showed West Brom exactly what they are missing. In our weekly roundtable, FanSided’s soccer staff share their reactions.
Paul Pogba is the star Manchester United need
Michael Harshbarger, @timhalpert
Manchester United hosted Southampton this week in what was the first Friday Night Lights match of the 2016-17 Premier League season. It was the perfect setting for Paul Pogba to make his return to Old Trafford.
After making only seven senior team appearances in his first stint with the Red Devils, Pogba moved to Juventus in August 2012, and went on to win four Serie A titles and two Coppa Italia trophies in four seasons while in Turin. Then, a few weeks ago, Jose Mourinho and several dump trucks full of money lured him back to North West England.
United set the all-time transfer record, shelling out a mind-imploding $116 million to Juventus for the French midfielder. His salary? $290,000 … a week.
Now what?
With the addition of Pogba, the spine of this United team is one of the most skilled in Europe: goalkeeper David De Gea, newly arrived center-back Eric Bailly, Pogba at center-mid, Wayne Rooney in the attacking midfield role, and Zlatan Ibrahimovic up top. Not to mention new manager Jose Mourinho, who is the first manager at Old Trafford since Sir Alex Ferguson left that feels like he can establish his own legacy instead of worrying about the gigantic shadow cast over the club by his most successful predecessor.
Under Ferguson, competing for the title — if not winning the title — was a given, as was winning nearly every single match. That has not been the case since he left in 2013. Until now. It’s still very early days, but United have claimed all six points in their first two matches while scoring five goals (Zlatan has three) and only conceding one. To say the United faithful are optimistic would be a giant understatement.
And as the club moves into this new phase it is clear that it will be Pogba leading the Red Devils into the post-Rooney era. Ibrahimovic is unquestionably brilliant, and will be a huge part of the success United have this season, but he is essentially a mercenary. He’s 34 and tends to jump ship after a few seasons in one spot.
Pogba, on the other hand, seems to be the natural heir apparent to Cristiano Ronaldo, and David Beckham before him. He possesses massive talent, supreme confidence in his abilities, and he’s an entertainer — on and off the field. These traits have been sorely lacking in recent Manchester United sides (Michael Carrick is the antithesis of that sort of flamboyant confidence, poor guy). You couldn’t have come up with a better player than Pogba to save United if you were using the create-a-player mode in FIFA.
On Friday, in his first match at the Theatre of Dreams, Pogba’s world class ability was clear for all to see. After a nervous attempted first touch — in which he whiffed on a pass, allowing Southampton to charge down the field and draw a free kick just outside the box — he was simply brilliant.
He dazzled the home fans his entire repertoire: His amazing close control and skill with the ball at his feet; his ability to serve dangerous balls into the box (four in the first 30 minutes); his incredible strength on the ball as he holds off players; his ability to get forward and have a go (he had a few near misses); his otherworldly decision making.
The last one — his decision making — is what stood out most on Friday. I only recall two of his passes not finding their intended target, both when he was swarmed by multiple opponents. Pogba is one of the few players that can be described as seeing the game two moves ahead without it sounding ridiculous. Countless times against Southampton he would pick up the ball in his own half, hold off a defender, make a wonderful turn, and either storm down the pitch or make the correct decision with his pass. (I wrote “so strong” and “so good” approximately 5,000 times each in my notes.)
Mourinho played Pogba alongside Marouane Fellaini as the “defensive” midfielders in a 4-2-3-1 formation. Pogba tended to play in a more advanced role on the left side, while Fellaini played more of the destroyer role — although they did interchange on occasion. Pogba is so skilled you wouldn’t be surprised if he was equally adept at any of the outfield positions, but he seems to really shine as a true box-to-box midfielder. All of his skills are utilized to maximum effect — including his underrated tackling and ball-winning — in this role; it will be interesting to see where Mourinho deploys him as the season progresses. If his first match was any indication, it may be wise to keep the current lineup together as much as possible.
Ibrahimovic scored both goals, and may be more quirky and self-involved than anyone on earth, but the impact Pogba has on a match is impossible to miss. Is he worth all of that money? It is hard to say, and transfer fees and wages are so cartoonish now that it’s probably a waste of time to argue about it, but Pogba is the exact right player to bring the magic back to Old Trafford.
After one of the many attacking forays executed by United on Friday, the announcer could hardly hide his excitement: “Hey, I remember this team! This is the Manchester United we used to see every week.”
With Pogba on the pitch, that’s the Manchester United we will see for a long time to come. Beware, rest of the Premier League. Beware.
Arsenal must address Ozil overdependence
James Dudko, @JamesDudko
Earlier this summer, Arsenal were pretty seriously linked to Henrikh Mkhitaryan, the Borussia Dortmund No. 10 who wound up signing for Premier League rivals Manchester United. It didn’t seem like such a big blow at the time, although giving United manager Jose Mourinho another reason to feel superior to Arsene Wenger should be against the law.
Even so, many would have shrugged at Arsenal not signing Mkhitaryan. After all, Wenger’s team already has enough playmakers.
Let’s face it, the Gunners boss has never seen a No. 10 he didn’t like, and often seems to plan his team’s attacking approach on a hot potato theory where the last half-forward with the ball just has to grin and bear it and finally shoot.
Thing is, though, Wenger’s current Arsenal team does need another creator in the final third. Don’t believe me? Then look back at this weekend’s 0-0 draw at last season’s Premier League champions, Leicester. That is if you can bear revisiting the snooze fest. Just be prepared to utter Marlon Brando’s chilling “The Horror, the horror!”
Arsenal weren’t just sluggish in attack at the King Power Stadium. They were downright comatose.
There was no inspiration, no incisive movement, no artful passing and no imagination. At least there wasn’t until Mesut Ozil entered the game as a second-half substitute.
With their cultured stroller gliding serenely in and out of pockets of space, the Gunners actually showed hints of what had eluded them all day prior to the German’s introduction. Namely, an actual attacking threat.
Even Alexis Sanchez, previously stuttering through another inept display as an ill-suited center-forward, came alive when Ozil was threading the passes. Their suave connection inside the last 10 minutes to create a shooting chance for Ozil offered a tantalizing glimpse of what the Gunners’ leading lights can conjure.
The difference between the pace and slickness of Arsenal’s combination passing pre- and post-Ozil was astonishing. It showed how worryingly over-reliant Wenger’s men are on the club’s record signing.
The Gunners’ unhealthy addiction to Ozil can’t be solved by going cold turkey. None of those players you all thought could seamlessly do what the sometimes frustratingly languid German does can really make Arsenal tick.
Anyone who has ever doubted Ozil — admittedly an easy target for derision with a playing style so chilled out it occasionally appears totally apathetic — need only look at Aaron Ramsey and Santi Cazorla’s efforts in his place for a reminder of his considerable value.
Ramsey isn’t really a quick-witted lock-picker in the final third. Instead, he’s a workhorse who likes to indulge his fondness for an occasional Hollywood pass. Cazorla’s got the vision and footwork most players can only dream of. But Arsenal’s matchbox-sized metronome is more effective deeper, where he can turn defense into attack with one ball faster than the average fan can blink.
Still, it’s Ozil who adds the flourish where it really matters. Without him Arsenal are pedestrian and devoid of ideas in front of goal. It’s a dependency Wenger has to address.
Fortunately there’s still time. Wenger couldn’t sign Mkhitaryan or Leicester’s wing wizard Riyad Mahrez, but he’s being linked with Porto’s £40 million-rated sorcerer from the flanks, Yacine Brahimi. He’s a dribble king with pace to burn, a sweet left foot and more tricks than a finishing school for magicians.
In other words, just the kind of player to wean the Gunners off their Ozil dependance. Wenger needs his No. 10 to continue being the main man. But he also needs a supporting player capable of conjuring a match-winning cameo more consistently than the rest of the cast.
Everton show West Brom what they’re missing
Matthew Miranda, @MMiranda613
Everton’s 2-1 win over West Bromwich Albion on Saturday was as much about the ends as the means. Everton are a perennial mid-table team, while West Brom usually reside near the bottom quarter of the table. One major difference between the two: offense. Everton can threaten opponents with some sustained degree of success.
West Brom’s approach to attack, meanwhile, is akin to tossing a coin in a fountain and hoping a wish comes true. In 2012-13, the Baggies employed Romelu Lukaku, who scored 17 goals for them. Now Everton employ him. Game, set, match, Toffees.
Still, West Brom’s long-range bombing gave them the early lead. Just before the eight minute mark, midfielder Craig Gardner launched a pass from 50 yards out to Salmon Rondon, who did well to chest it down and rocket a strike at Everton goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg. On the following corner, a Gardner cross found Gareth McAuley for a header. Five minutes later, Gardner sent another perfect 50-yard pass cross-field to Matt Phillips on the right wing. Gardner’s first-half work was as effective and easy on the eyes as any you’ll see, and the Baggies were looking good.
But fruitful long passing tends to turn into fruitless long passing, and when that happened West Brom had no more ideas. Just before the half-hour mark, Jonas Olsson overshot Rondon; the Venezuelan did well to track down a ball that looked destined to go out of bounds and get it to Craig Dawson, but his cross was nowhere close. Three minutes later the Baggies caught Everton in disarray with a short corner, but Claudio Yacob’s cross was over Rondon’s head.
In the 37th minute Lukaku entered the game for Everton, and their offense picked up while West Brom’s faded. In the 43rd minute, Lukaku took a pass at the top of the 18-yard box, working against Olsson; the sight of a single player menacing a defense must have been a wonderment to the Baggies faithful. Toward the end of the first half, Gardner turned the ball over to Phil Jagielka, who initiated a delightful 12-pass sequence ending in a Kevin Mirallas equalizer. There were perfect first touches, players in motion, triangle passing and a continuous build-up of play from one end to another. It was the kind of goal that requires intricate movement and tight, controlled passes. The kind West Brom don’t generally create.
The Baggies had the chance to retake the lead in the 48th minute: a throw-in to Rondon became a perfect cross-pitch pass to Johnny Evans. Gardner’s run up the left wing caused two Toffee defenders to react, leaving Evans acres of open space. Moments later West Brom were causing mayhem in Everton’s 18-yard box, and only another fine Stekelenburg save on Darren Fletcher kept things even. Two minutes later, Lukaku, posting up Olsson again, left a beautiful no-look pass back through his legs to finish a smart give-and-go with Mason Holgate, forcing a Yacob block and a corner.
Everton’s offense had a fixed focal point, and their attack grew sharper over time. Meanwhile, West Brom had too many sequences like one in the 56th minute, when some nifty passing between Fletcher and Berahino relieved Everton’s attacking pressure. Soon after, Evans bombed a long pass upfield, but Phillips and Rondon made the same run, allowing the Toffees defenders to stay narrow and leaving Evans nothing to work with. This was a consistent problem for West Brom: they were repeatedly forced into making difficult, long passes in an attempt to generate some offense. They didn’t work.
Individual efforts gave Everton the lead and ultimately the win. A terrific Mirallas free kick was met by an even better header from Funes Mori and a corner kick. Mason Holgate got enough of the ensuing corner to direct the ball toward Gareth Barry near the post, who headed it in ahead of the flatfooted Evans. Perhaps it’s unfair to blame Evans for being caught off-guard – this was Barry’s first goal in over two-and-a-half years.
More brilliant individual play threatened to put the game away for good. This was Yannick Bolasie’s Everton debut, and if his simpatico with Lukaku going forward meets the measure of what we saw Saturday, he will go down as a game-changing transfer for Ronald Koeman. In the 71st minute Bolasie’s strong run up the right wing and powerful, perfectly-placed cross would have been the deciding moment if Ross Barkley hadn’t flubbed it. Bolasie found Lukaku twice more in front of the net, and on the latter occasion the Belgian forced a massive save by Foster.
West Brom finished with 34 percent possession. That number might work for a brilliant counterattacking team, but for one that relies on the long ball, it’s a death knell. Gardner would need to make 10-12 perfect passes every game for the Baggies offense to have any shot at legitimacy. Manager Tony Pulis admits uncertainty around the team’s ownership may have dissuaded transfer targets from coming to the Hawthorns. Fortunately, with the transfer window closing at the end of month, new boss Guochuan Lai was in attendance and saw firsthand what his team is and what they need. Lukaku 2.0 or maybe even a Bolasie could give West Brom’s offense the machete they need to hack their way up the Premier League table.