Morning all.
I know Christmas Day is just around the corner but for Arsenal, the gift of giving was on show at Selhurst Park yesterday evening. A number of mistakes were made by our two centre backs and keeper, the only surprise being that Palace didn’t take advantage.
Unsurprisingly, Mikel Arteta gave Gabriel Jesus a second start in a row after his heroics on Wednesday made sure we booked a place in the League Cup semifinal. Six minutes after kickoff, our No9 hit the back of the net once more. Bukayo Saka provided the cross which ended up in space, space which Jesus was about to fill. Gabriel was smart as he shielded the ball from the defenders as Jesus blasted the ball home.
Five minutes later, the scores were level. Sarr picked up the ball in midfield, Arsenal let him run and then he shot. And scored. So we had to go again and funny enough, that’s exactly what we did and yes, it was our No9 who was at it again. A corner, a loose ball, a stunning Jesus strike. Palace had a couple of good chances to equalise again, one when William Saliba was caught in possession just outside the our box but Raya spared his blushes with a big save off a Mateta shot.
Bukay Saka was down, then he was out of the game with what looked like a hamstring injury. On came Leandro Trossard with Martinelli switching to the right. Jesus looked like he might add a third goal to his tally but Lacroix had other ideas. Gabriel then crashed a header onto the bar just before we scored again. Martinelli was clever down the right, beating Mitchell before cutting a cross back into the box. Jesus got his head to it but hit the bar but the rebound fell at the feet of Kai Havertz who had the easiest of finishes. 3-1 felt a lot more comfortable but Palace weren’t ready to give up.
After the break, Raya pulled off another couple of good saves to preserve our two goal lead. The first from a Sarr header then a double save from Mateta and Sarr. Arteta made a couple of changes with Declan Rice and Riccardo Calafiori coming on for Havertz and Lewis-Skelly.
Then came our 4th goal. A super ball over the midfield to Trossard from Gabriel started the move. The Belgian crossed for Jesus to shoot but his shot was straight at Henderson. Rice picked up the stray ball before setting up Martinelli. Tidy! Rice himself finished the scoring off with a lovely curling strike from the edge of the box which flew past Henderson.
If ever there was a sign that our luck might be changing it was yesterday. We made a number of defensive cockups which on another day, might have been punished. The amount of time our players take on a throw-in is ridiculous and we’re lucky not to have more players booked than we did. Raya time wasting before we’d even got to half-time was something I really don’t enjoy seeing. Thankfully, the bookings slate wipes clean at the end of the year.
In the end, the result was fantastic against a strong Crystal Palace side who’d been on good run of form.
The downside was the injury Bukayo Saka picked up. As said, it looked like a hamstring problem which if it is, let’s hope it’s not a bad one but he left the ground on crutches apparently.
We have a six day break now before playing Ipswich on the 27th, our final fixture of the year which is against Ipswich.
Catch up in the comments.
Good morning Rico.
Nice game, nice result, nice write up. What more could anyone want.
I see, in the papers, that Jesus is being called the new Messiah. Let’s hope he can continue beyond Easter, unlike his namesake predecessor. 😉
Good morning Cicero.
What a crazy game. At times, our defence was all over the place with MLS looking the best and most confident of all. Raya had a wobble before saving brilliantly and then up the other end, there was goal dust aplenty. One can only hope Jesus has hit some form and it continues but if I was Arteta, I’d still do all I could to sign a striker next month. Especially now that Saka looks like he’s going to be out for a while.
Morning Rico and all.
Let’s hope Saka’s injury is not too bad. the stories about who we are looking at are one but as Rico said earlier / yesterday there is a big difference between looking and signing, no matter who we sell or buy, I hope we get the deals done early.
Morning Geoff, it’s that time of year I guess. We’ll be linked with a number of players, especially strikers but signing a top notch player in January is going to be hard to do imo.
When does Everton-Liverpool play in arrears?
Center forward: they are very expensive. In Colombia and Brazil you can find someone who satisfies and is much cheaper.
I thought Martinelli was more than decent when he moved to the right wing to deputise for Saka and I think Arteta will start him there while Saka is out, with Trossard on the left. We’re pretty light on forward replacements with Sterling crocked as well so he might be forced to bring someone in. In any case I think we’re going to see a lot more of Ethan Nwaneri in the next few weeks.
Strange but good scores in the matches so far today.
Anyone else hoping for a Totts win?
We’re definitely going to be shorter in attack in both Sterling and Saka are longer term injuries. Might see a couple of academy players drafted into the squad.
Totts turkey getting a pre Christmas stuffing
Spuds pull one back,Madison makes it 1 – 2. 40 mins.
…..and Liverpool get another. 1 – 3
Half-time
Spuds getting roasted! 1 – 4
1 – 5
This could end up in double figures?
Gosh, I wasn’t expecting that.
Ange’s job must be on the line..
3 – 5 now.
3 – 6
Tottenham are like a music hall act..,
‘Step right up, step right up, for the greatest show on earth, the most spectacular example of how not to defend in a football match, the natural successors to Fred Karnos Army, it’s the Boomerang Boys of N17, they keep on coming back for more and they keep on making the same mistakes’
With the injury to Saka and the recent resurgence of Jesus could Marquinhos make a dramatic return in 2025?
Desperate times if Marquinhos is suddenly into the mix. He’s not had a good time on loan has he?
Well Rico, with Sterling and Neto (yeah I forgot him) we’ve got our full quota of players allowed on loan, so if Jason Ayto can’t pull off something spectacular then Marquinhos it is…
Or, we sign someone on a permanent deal Kev.
But you never know in this game, one door shuts and another opens..
Merry Christmas to you and yours too Geoff. Stay safe..
Saka out for “many weeks” – Arteta.
Merry Cristmas and a happy and safe new year all.
I off to help my sister pack as she has been put on hi alert, as her home only 20 minutes from bush fires and tempertures around 4o degrees due over the next few days.
Saka was too “squeezed” and used.
Furthermore, it seems to me that he has a relatively fragile physical constitution.
When he accumulates a set of injuries, substantially caused by their opponents, there comes a certain point when his knees, ankles or hips give way.
I don’t think Saka is fragile Jm, he just plays too much.
Thought the same Cicero about Jesus.
If Sterling is going to be out for weeks, what’s the point in keeping him? Send him back to Chelsea, the season will be almost over by the time he recovers, does his rehab and gets up to match fitness. Not the best of Arteta’s signings by a long way!
If the powers that be, FiFa, UEFA, The F A the Premiership etc are going go continue adding more an more fixtures then the maximum size of squads will have to be increased. There are simply too many games and too much pressure put on players to play in too many of them.
Arteta mentioned having bigger squads in his press conference today but admitted it’s unlikely.
We only have a squad of 22 senior players anyway when could have had 25..