DESTRUCTIONBALL™ - A LITTLE SCARY?
I'm not sure where to take this match report. Our last three performances in the Premier League resulted in two draws and a win. Yet I left that game feeling it was the least control we had out of all of them and probably our worst performance.
Football is weird. Arsenal were very much on the right side of every possible variance against Palace. There was a moment when we were 3-1 up and I felt a little bit embarrassed. They were decent and had some great chances, but the footballing gods were with us…
… finally.
We had 4 big chances against Fulham and scored no goals. We had 5 big chances against Palace and scored 5.
Re-referencing the Giannis clip from yesterday.
'There are good days, bad days, some days you are able to be successful, some days you are not.'
You want to tell me the people calling for Arteta to be axed last week understand elite-level sport better than Giannis? Get out of here.
Arteta and his team work to put Arsenal in a position to succeed every week. But sometimes football smacks you in the face. You can't coach for unjust red cards. You sometimes won't find the answer in certain games. The hope is that over a season, you can be on the right side of results more than everyone else.
Arsenal have played 9 games since we came back from the international break. We've scored 27 goals, conceded 7, won 7, and drawn 2. Did we really have to indulge the idiots last week saying Arteta should be shown the door? Deeply unserious. Exceptionally childish. Really damaging to the mood.
Where are they today? Celebrating with the rest of us. No consequences. Because who wants to go down that path after winning 5-1? There is no cost for these people having a shocking record of not being able to see around the corner.
Back to the game.
Jesus has RISEN. Is that the right word? I hope so. The hot streak he's in is actually real. He scored two fabulous goals and should have had a third after a big miss. The man failed a drugs test after the game - the substance was CONFIDENCE. Going to keep telling that joke for WEEKS. So good.
His first goal was right place, right time... Big Gabi saw his run, shielded a potential block, and Gabi J drilled low under a sea of limbs.
We let Palace back into the game. They were getting at us with long balls, catching Thomas in transition. There was no Declan to catch Sarr, Saliba didn't get tight enough, and the finish was exceptional. We found ourselves level.
The second goal came from a set piece. The back post was found, Palace cleared to Partey who brought the ball down over his head (outstanding technique), teed up Jesus, and he curled a sublime inswinging first-time strike to the top corner. You only score those if you're feeling it. Absolutely magical. The boy is BACK.
There was some really bad news. We lost Saka on 24 minutes to a hamstring injury that looked quite bad.
David Raya had his say on the game. In a match-defining moment, Mateta made the most of a Saliba brain fart - all he had to do was clear Raya, but the Spaniard was rapid out of his box, making himself MASSIVE to block the shot.
Let's be clear here: Arsenal were ahead, but the game was a mess. We had no control in midfield. The game turned into a transition slugfest. It was not the tightly regulated performance of the last few weeks. But maybe that's what we needed to see as fans? It felt like the sort of game we'd see two seasons ago. You remember that season, when we were saying things like 'we'll never win the league playing this emotionally.'
We found our closing move on 37 minutes. Martinelli created some room out on the right, clipped a lovely cross to Jesus, the header hit the post, and Kai was on hand to score from 1 yard out. He did the baby celebration... another kid on the way? Madness. We have the most fertile players in the league these days. Arsenal players helping the global depopulation crisis on their own. What a civic bunch.
I was hoping Arteta would make swift changes in the second half, but he took his sweet time. Sarr had a header from 6 yards saved. The same player walloped it from 30 yards, Raya saved it and popped it out 8 yards, Mateta followed up only to have it saved again.
Big, important moments that gave Arsenal a platform to mete out some destruction.
The fourth landed on 57 minutes. Gabriel dropped a Hollywood pass into Trossard, he cut it to Jesus who missed from close range, Declan followed up with a shot Martinelli turned in from close range.
The fifth came when Calafiori found Declan in space, he opened his body and drilled a shot to the back post.
So what to make of that game?
Firstly, Bukayo hobbling off after 24 minutes is a BIG nightmare scenario. Hope for weeks, but brace yourself friends, that is likely to be months. As seasons go, the injury luck has been off the scales so far, and it's deeply depressing that Liverpool can keep their golden oldies firing and we can't preserve our babies? Very annoying. Soft tissue as well. Preventable to an extent.
But...
I have high hopes we can manage. Players will need to step up. Martinelli, I'm looking at you, my friend. We need you fighting fit and delivering from the right.
Gabi Jesus, I don't want to see you getting injured. We need City Jesus taking us to the Promised Land.
Kai Havertz, we need to see the improved clip of goals continue.
The load that Saka has been bearing needs to be co-opted by the rest of the team. We can't let our season die on another key injury to a big player. Even worse that Raheem wasn’t in the squad because he’s also picked up an injury. Like crashing the rental car after a write-off. Bad times.
Thomas Partey is at the age where you're taking his driver's license away and you're making sure he's always paired with an athletic adult. He was decent yesterday, but physically, he's done, and he can't be running midfield on his own like he could 4 years ago.
I know this tweet ain't perfect. The game state was different when Declan came on. But sometimes, confirmation bias is too strong to ignore, and I think we all know we're more secure with Declan on the pitch. That man came on and sucked the joy out of the game for Glasner like a Mourinho side circa 2005. He's 2 midfielders. Has it all. Our Rodri. He's been nursing knocks all December, hence the lack of presence in the starting 11. But let's hope we get him fit and firing.
Our left-hand side is now looking like MLS and Calafiori. The older player had a great cameo. But what I loved about the MLS run out is how confident he is, how strong he is under pressure, and how much his game looks like that of Jurrien Timber. MLS gives us permission to exit Zinchenko and free up some funds.
My overall feeling on the game is that Arsenal gave up too much to Palace. We were chasing open play glory, we achieved it, but that's no way to win the league over the long term. I find it slightly perplexing how many people loved how we played, but I get it, we were very joga bonito and sometimes you need those games.
My hope is Arteta finds a bit of balance over the next few games and we can control and kill at the same time.
Ok, that's me done. Here's the early bird On The Whistle. It was a fun one. Enjoy. x