Morning all.
Last night’s draw against Crystal Palace was Arsenal’s 13th draw of the season, 6 of which have been at The Emirates. Apart from the goalless draw against Everton, we’d been ahead in all of the drawn games. Add in the defeat to West Ham and it’s clear to see why the League title has escaped our reach once again.
Not for one minute am I suggesting we should win every home game but we shouldn’t be dropping 15 points at home. That figure could get worse with both Newcastle and Bournemouth still to play.
We are in danger of not only missing out on second place but missing out on Champions League football altogether if we’re not careful. Our saviour might be Chelsea who have to play Liverpool, Newcastle and Nottingham Forest. Mind you, Aston Villa aren’t to be ruled out of snatching 5th place just yet.
We have four games left, Bournemouth – H, Liverpool – A, Newcastle – H and lastly, Southampton – A.
I know we’ve had injuries, I know the officials have made some dreadful decisions against us but last nights result was of our own making. Why Sterling was anywhere near the starting eleven I just don’t know. What David Raya was playing at during the game is something I can’t fathom either, especially his positioning for the Palace equaliser. William Saliba’s cockup was bad enough but our keeper, who has a habit of leaving his goal, simply abandoned it last night. That’s probably the worst he’s played for a long time. He was so bad I’d be checking the betting shops if that was my job.
We couldn’t have started better though. A lovely free kick from Martin Odegaard swung in from the left was only bettered by the header from Jakub Kiwior. The power, pace and direction he got on his goal was just incredible really, no wonder his teammates were happy for him. His been excellent ever since he replaced Gabriel.
A Palace corner delivered to Eze on the edge of the box was hit well and into the ground. The bounce evaded both the defence and Raya. 1-1. Trossard then popped up again to restore our lead but as said, Mateta capitalised on some shoddy Arsenal defending to equalise.
Both sides had decent chances to take all three points but we had to settle for yet another draw at The Emirates.
Mikel Arteta:
I’m very disappointed with the result and disappointed as well with some parts of the performance. It was a tough match, and credit to them for the way they set up, and they made life difficult for us. But we were twice ahead and without playing our best game because we never found the consistency in our play and phases to completely dominate it, grab the game and take it where we want it.
Now we need to recover mentally and physically. And we need some players back because we haven’t trained with a lot of players, because they’re managing issues, or they haven’t been fit. We need a really good block of work now to get the best feeling, the best preparation and get the energy back to have an amazing night here on Tuesday night.
It was a weird game really as neither side seemed to be committed to the cause although out of the two, I think Palace edged it. The kind of football we saw against Ipswich just wasn’t there. Whether that’s because players were thinking about Tuesday’s Champions League semi-final or not I’ve no idea but just as that game is important, so was last night’s. Every game throughout a season it’s important if for no other reason than a vast number of fans pay a lot of money to watch.
Both Mikel Merino and Ben White were left out of the squad yesterday and Mikel Arteta hasn’t said why. Hopefully they were both having a breather because we need them on Tuesday.
Another player who didn’t feature last night is Oleksandr Zinchenko which makes me think he’s the player who will fill the gap Thomas Partey’s suspension will leave on Tuesday night and Mikel Arteta didn’t want to risk him last night.
Now there’s a six day break and as Arteta said in his post match interview, there’s a lot of work to be done. PSG however, have a home game tomorrow against Nice with the away team battling for a place in Europe. Hopefully it’ll be a tough and physical encounter.
Catch up in the comments.
Good morning Rico,
A fair summation of the game which ended in a draw but it could have been worse.
A dreadful error, the second in two game, by Saliba gifted Palace a goal but the fault was not 100% his, Raya was way to far off his line. Back in the day, Don Howe or George Graham would both have given them a good kick in the arse.
Throughout the season, so far, Saliba has been the epitome of cool, calm and elegant defending. Could it be that fatigue is playing a part in his apparent lapses in concentration. He has played a huge number of games under great pressure due to the absence of his sidekick Gabriel.
A few days rest and reflection should sort out the issues.
Second place may be at risk, but I believe we will be playing Champions League next season.
It would appear that talks are underway about a contract extension between the club and Thomas Partey after the player expressed a wish to stay at Arsenal beyond the summer. For or against, I’m unsure.
Terrible game. Boring, slow and not played with passion from the majority of the players. CP took advantage of it in the second half making us very lucky not to lose.
As for Martinelli. It’s about time he learns not to be selfish and stops thinking he can score every time. How many times have we seen him thump the ball straight into the side netting. It’s getting very predictable! He should have passed the ball to Saka who would have slotted it in and given us a win!
Berta is very well aware of this to, so watch this space Martinelli if you don’t buck up your ideas.
Onwards and upwards. Champions League. I have every faith that they will play well like they did against Real Madrid.
Morning Cicero, Laura, all.
I’ve no idea what Odegaard and Saliba were trying to do but sometimes a boot up the pitch is better than dawdling at the back. As for Raya, well his positioning often frightens me and yesterday it cost us.
I’m pleased Partey might stay because he can replace Jorginho depending on his fitness etc and if he has another season like this, we’re keeping hold of a superb player imo. Our finances, however much we have, needs to be invested in our creativity as well as a central defence minded midfielder.
Not for the first time we put in a horrendous, do we have to be here, performance.
Saliba can be superb but all
Too often he dwells and dithers, he could have been caught more than the recent brain freezes would show.
God knows what went on with Raya. His saves were good but crosses and distribution, good god!
I am not a Marti fan. I tire of his predictable runs and head down approach.
Don’t get me started on bloody Sterling. Why are even thinking of him starting, it’s bizarre.
I have read that Merino is injured, which with Partey suspended would be a disaster
2nd place is touch and go, not getting it should lead to some very serious questioning who’s style of play , frankly bores me to death.
Saliba was bullied by Mateta , it is his one weakness , big athletic lumps always seem to give him problems unless Gabriel sorts them out and he was as nervous as a kitten and probably mentally looking over his shoulder when he tried to pass to Odegaard . Throughout the whole game last night our midfield was error strewn , Partey kept misplacing passes and Odegaard was totally ineffective. Never thought that I would say this but we missed Merino and his ability to hold the ball if we are to be without both him and Partey at home next Tuesday it is a great problem .
I am often surprised by the continual criticism of Martinelli , I am sure if you asked all of his critics whether they would prefer to have Pires back they would all jump at the chance but if you compare their stats. In 157 premier league games Martinelli has scored 39 goals whereas in 189 games playing with Henry , Pires scored 48 .
Not too different really.
Good afternoon Rico and all
a straight to the point post Rico. But one thing I don’t agree with…..Not for one minute am I suggesting we should win every home game…….I am sorry but yes I do think that with the team we have we should be winning every home game. It is that good….even with the injuries/suspensions we have had….infact I have already said it another time…..with the right mentality, attitude and fair refereeing with this team we can go another season unbeaten.
Just keep in mind…..we are in the SF of the CL and 2nd in the EPL. With all that we have gone through this season we have done exceptionally well. And keep in mind that the other so called big teams, with the exception of Liverpool, are all below us, city included.
I believe that a result like yesterday’s was to be expected. The manager’s and players’ minds are all on the game vs PSG on Tuesday. Whether they admit it or not. The performance level was bound to drop. Attention and focus wasnt 100%.
Just a small note on Saliba. RM came calling. He has committed the same error twice in two games. Any one bets that his head isn’t harbouring any thoughts about RM??
Oddly enough Potter, your comparison to Pires had been in my mind after last night. Not as far as the stats go but the ball he didn’t chase down quick enough. Perhaps he feared overstretching or over committing in case his hamstring went.
Apart from his cross for Kiwior, I thought Odegaard’s was in a similar bracket to Sterling as far as his performance goes.
I’m 99% sure, barring one or two, PSG was in the players heads..
Afternoon Devil, sorry, I had to pop out.
Ideally yes re our home games but an odd slip up can be expected which so many injuries and useless officials.
As for Real, why would Saliba want to join a club we’ve just thrashed 😜
Albert Sambi Lokonga, remember him? On loan at Sevilla, he has suffered four injuries this season and they don’t want to exercise their £10.5 million right to buy clause so he will be returning to Arsenal at the season’s end.
Arsenal in advanced negotiations with Real Sociedad over signing Zubimenda.
Good morning all.
Morning Cicero, all.
I used to think Lokonga had a good career ahead of him at Arsenal, especially after all the hype surrounding him. Sad he’s had so many injuries, just hope he’s fit going into the transfer window because I can’t see him playing for us again.
New post up