Positives & negatives from the 5-3 win over Barcelona

Positive #2: Performances of new signings

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, Jurrien Timber looks to have been an incredible signing. The more I see him play in an Arsenal shirt, the more I think he may be the signing and bargain of the summer.

In this game, he slotted in naturally at left-back and looked just as comfortable as he did on the right. His technical security is so encouraging and he looked very threatening going forward. With his ability to invert like Oleksandr Zinchenko, he is going to be a fantastic tool at Arteta’s disposal.

https://twitter.com/footballdaily/status/1684507913161670658

Havertz started slowly but grew more and more into the game until he scored his goal. On first watch, it may look like an easy tap-in, but the German darts off as Martin Odegaard goes to head the ball, creates the space for himself and then finishes nicely. It will undoubtedly build his confidence.

Kai seems to have an innate ability to find space, stretch the opposition and lose his marker. Players who can do that are extremely rare and unbelievably useful. He seems to be built in the same vein as Thomas Müller, Bayern Munich’s ‘Raumdeuter’: space interpreter.

Negative #2: Aaron Ramsdale

I’ve long been a fervent defender of Ramsdale and that won’t change off of the back of a few poor performances. He will be our number-one goalkeeper this season and I am very happy about that.

However, I have been a bit worried by his recent games. Some will blame Ramsdale for the second goal, which is a bit harsh in my opinion, although maybe his positioning could have been better.

What worries me more is his sloppiness in possession. He had a 42.8% pass accuracy and only four long balls out of 19 fell to an Arsenal player on Wednesday night. He is usually so good with his feet but recently it has fallen a bit flat.

Continued on the next slide…