Arsenal 4-1 Palace Player Ratings and Match Reaction

[Letters]

6 of those feel very winnable. That probably won't be enough in itself, but some results in the others and some slips by City and we'll be OK.

[selassie]

Basically it’s about ranking the ten remaining fixtures in terms of difficulty

10) Southampton (H)
9) Leeds (H)
8) Wolves (H)
7) Forest (A)
6) West Ham (A)
5) Brighton (H)
4) Chelsea (H)
3) Newcastle (A)
2) Liverpool (A)
1) City (A)

Now some people find rank 4-10 slightly differently, but I think we all know the three toughest fixtures

Pretty much agree with this, though I think Brighton at home is going to be very tricky, could have a case to put that game at number 3, Newcastle 4 and Chelsea 5.

Chelsea look a better team now than earlier on in the season but they struggle defensively, even more so without Silva. Despite that if they click going forward they are going to cause us a lot of problems IMO.

[Mac76]

It wouldn’t be possible for any performance to be good enough so that every player gets an 8

For example If Ramsdale got an 8 for incredible saves it means the midfield and defence haven’t been doing their job and he’s had to make those saves to begin with.

Equally if the players in front of you have been so dominant that there’s been hardly any defending to do or saves to make…there really isn’t any need to give out 6’s or at most 7.

The perfect performance doesn't exist and this was far from it anyhow. Sloppy in possession at times, bit too casual second half (again that’s to be expected to a degree).

It was a good performance, but equally Palace have to be one of the worst teams we’ve played at the Emirates this season. Decent players, and they weren’t deliberately not trying just bereft of confidence. And I think we’d have had a harder game if Paddy was still at the helm.

I think you have a different approach to scoring than me - for me a player can deserve a good score if they do their job well and be part of a winning performance - so if Ram only has to make one save in a game because we've defended well, if it's a top-class save he gets a 9 for me because when he was called upon he did very well

also, no offence meant but you - and i think quite a few on here - pretty much only watch us on TV - i think there's a difference if you're watching the game at the ground - all the ST holders i was talking to in the pub after agreed we played very well - maybe that's because we can see all the movement and work off the ball that's lost on the TV

again it may be a different way of seeing things, but personally i don't buy the idea that winning 4-1 is all down to poor opposition, we still had to play well although it's true they only scored because White lost his head but that almost proves the point, the minute we dropped below a very high level they took advantage

it's like the 7-0 Liverpool v Man Ure game, to say - as Gary Neville did - Liverpool didn't play well is ridiculous - even though Man Ure were terrible, how many other PL teams would be able to put that many past them?

[Chippy]

Win the next 8 and we're Champions

This is the scary thing (although your comment is likely spoken with some satire), but the longer we keep getting positive results, the dream of becoming champions a real possibility! That hope scares the shit out of me
I have said a few times before, it's the hope that kills you.

[HCZ_Reborn]

I think you have a different approach to scoring than me - for me a player can deserve a good score if they do their job well and be part of a winning performance - so if Ram only has to make one save in a game because we've defended well, if it's a top-class save he gets a 9 for me because when he was called upon he did very well

also, no offence meant but you - and i think quite a few on here - pretty much only watch us on TV - i think there's a difference if you're watching the game at the ground - all the ST holders i was talking to in the pub after agreed we played very well - maybe that's because we can see all the movement and work off the ball that's lost on the TV

again it may be a different way of seeing things, but personally i don't buy the idea that winning 4-1 is all down to poor opposition, we still had to play well although it's true they only scored because White lost his head but that almost proves the point, the minute we dropped below a very high level they took advantage

it's like the 7-0 Liverpool v Man Ure game, to say - as Gary Neville did - Liverpool didn't play well is ridiculous - even though Man Ure were terrible, how many other PL teams would be able to put that many past them?

I don’t know you know, as I said after that game credit to Liverpool for their ruthlessness but I don’t think I’ve seen a United side defend so badly, It was so bad I was watching through my fingers after the third goal and I can’t stand United

I don’t know if I agree that going to the game necessarily gives you greater insight into the game. For example going back a few years, game against Liverpool I was at…the referee came off with a hamstring problem and was replaced by Anthony Taylor…who within ten-fifteen minutes awards Liverpool a penalty…im seething…I think Bellerin has got the ball and that Taylor is trying to fuck us over like he did against Villa the previous season.
Even after we win 4-1 I can’t let it go and I’m cursing Taylor’s birth even though he sent off Emre Caan. Only watching it on match of the day later do I feel daft, it’s the most nailed on stonewall penalty there is…Bellerin hadnt got the ball and clumsily mistimed the tackle.
Now I’m shortsighted as fuck so that could possibly account for that somewhat that and I like to sit in the upper tiers during games.
But if you go to a match you’re more caught up in the atmosphere and yeah a 4-1 win is always a sign of a pretty comprehensive win. Then again I’ve been to a few games where we were pedestrian at best for large amounts of the game and won by that amount.
But I’m not giving a keeper a 9 for making one vital save if he’s had fuck all to do for the rest of the game. He’s done his job and been vigilant.
I think what you seem to be suggesting is that I’m expecting near perfection and I’m getting disappointed. In regards to yesterday? Not at all…we played within ourselves to a degree and still came out comfortable winners…that’s a good thing.

To be honest the nearest I’ve seen to an almost faultless performance this side has given this season was against Brentford. From back to front we barely put a foot wrong it was so confident and commanding and certainly no one in the starting xi deserved below a 7 (although I’d have to check what I actually gave them). Performance like that against City?, i think we’d beat them.

Ultimately I’m not the coach, and it’s just as well as I’d make a lousy one…I’d be fired within a week. But the point is I’m judging the players individually rather than the team when I give the ratings.

[Letters]

This is the scary thing (although your comment is likely spoken with some satire), but the longer we keep getting positive results, the dream of becoming champions a real possibility! That hope scares the shit out of me
I have said a few times before, it's the hope that kills you.

After the wins at Spurs then home to Utd I started to believe. Those are the sorts of results you get in a title winning season. But then we had “the wobble”. 1 point out of 9 and losing to your rivals at home. That’s not exactly the stuff of Champions. After the City game I thought we had no chance. But the reaction to that wobble has been fantastic. 6 wins on the bounce and we are back in poll position. I still don’t regrard us as hot favourites. We’ve got the pressure of the run in, we have 3 of the top 6 away from home. But City have the cups to juggle and they’re certainly capable of slips.

We have definitely got a chance

[Chippy]

After the wins at Spurs then home to Utd I started to believe. Those are the sorts of results you get in a title winning season. But then we had “the wobble”. 1 point out of 9 and losing to your rivals at home. That’s not exactly the stuff of Champions. After the City game I thought we had no chance. But the reaction to that wobble has been fantastic. 6 wins on the bounce and we are back in poll position. I still don’t regrard us as hot favourites. We’ve got the pressure of the run in, we have 3 of the top 6 away from home. But City have the cups to juggle and they’re certainly capable of slips.

We have definitely got a chance

[cricketsi]

To be honest the nearest I’ve seen to an almost faultless performance this side has given this season was against Brentford. From back to front we barely put a foot wrong it was so confident and commanding and certainly no one in the starting xi deserved below a 7 (although I’d have to check what I actually gave them). Performance like that against City?, i think we’d beat them.

You gave Saka and Martinelli ratings of 6, by the way. But, then again the week before you were quite vociferously abusing Arteta and saying he needed to leave our club as soon as possible, so you might want to take your opinions with a pinch of salt 😅

[HCZ_Reborn]

You gave Saka and Martinelli ratings of 6, by the way. But, then again the week before you were quite vociferously abusing Arteta and saying he needed to leave our club as soon as possible, so you might want to take your opinions with a pinch of salt ��

I’ve been looking back on some of my player ratings (because there’s nothing better to do than this on a Tuesday morning when you don’t have to work because you condensed your working hours) and I have to say I think there’s a slight move towards me being more unforgiving of late. I think in the back of my mind, I look at some errors players make in the game and think “that’s gonna get punished by city or Liverpool”

I’m also a horrendously negative individual who easily takes against people that I’ll never meet

[selassie]

After the wins at Spurs then home to Utd I started to believe. Those are the sorts of results you get in a title winning season. But then we had “the wobble”. 1 point out of 9 and losing to your rivals at home. That’s not exactly the stuff of Champions. After the City game I thought we had no chance. But the reaction to that wobble has been fantastic. 6 wins on the bounce and we are back in poll position. I still don’t regrard us as hot favourites. We’ve got the pressure of the run in, we have 3 of the top 6 away from home. But City have the cups to juggle and they’re certainly capable of slips.

We have definitely got a chance

Yeah it's no longer a dream, we are knee deep in a Title challenge now. I still believe it's 50/50 for the simple reason that we have 3 extremely tough away games to navigate and a couple of relatively tough home games where we are capable of dropping points in. At the end of the day we can only do what we do and concentrate on ourselves and not worry about City.

I don't regard us as hot favourites either for the simple reason we have not been in this position for a very long time and most if not all of the squad with the exception of Zinchenko & Jesus have not been in this position in PL. City have the experience of being in this position and chasing down their rivals so it's not new terrority to them.

I got a little bit of heat on here the other day for saying this but whatever happens it's been a successful season, yes I want and am desperate for us to win the thing but if we don't then we would have exceeded expectations regardless.

The most important thing is not so much about this season, but more about building this squad to the level where we challenge like this over the forthcoming seasons.