The Arsenal v Crystal Palace, 12.30pm, Saturday 20 January, Emirates Stadium

[Mac76]

We ought to be talking about this I suppose.

We need to get on track again very badly, let's hope the training camp in Dubai and all that salted steak has done them some good.

Would be good to see ESR given a chance but I doubt it somehow.

0-3 Eze hatter

[Letters]

Oh please win this you utterly useless twats.
Fanx.

[HCZ_Reborn]

A lot of disturbing stats have emerged including that we’ve scored only 19 goals from open play in 20 games this season.

That and we are 8th in the league for creation of big chances. It’s not really surprising, and whilst warm weather training may have built up confidence and camaraderie…it doesn’t change that one win in the last seven, is more a symbol of how sporting gravity has caught up with us and that it’s the system we are playing and doubling down on that is the trouble rather than simply poor finishing (and yes doubtless there is that too)

I think it shows up XG as a bit misleading, because our XG rating if anything is higher than last season. XG seems to work on the law of averages that if you create enough chances by volume you are going to have a better chance of scoring, but whilst I don’t think there’s anything wrong with the quantity of chances we create…the quality something else. Especially when the build up is slow and allows teams to employ a deep block


I simply don’t know who is available to us for lunchtime tomorrow to have a real idea of who should play. I’m minded to say we should have Rice and Jorginho playing in midfield simply because we are asking too much for both Odegaard and Havertz to drop deep the win the ball.


As for predictions. Well conventional wisdom would probably have this as a draw…the immovable object frustrates the very stoppable force.

[Niall_Quinn]

Last season was untypical, as we only collapsed once. The typical Arsenal season has at least two decent collapses. I predict the band of pampered pretenders will now knuckle down and create a pretty false dawn in preparation for the second collapse. Win. Followed by a few more wins. And the fans revelling in the grand achievements of players who have no balls. At least until the cliff edge, after which the wise fans will remind us all how they told us so. Set your watch by it.

[HCZ_Reborn]

Last season was untypical, as we only collapsed once. The typical Arsenal season has at least two decent collapses. I predict the band of pampered pretenders will now knuckle down and create a pretty false dawn in preparation for the second collapse. Win. Followed by a few more wins. And the fans revelling in the grand achievements of players who have no balls. At least until the cliff edge, after which the wise fans will remind us all how they told us so. Set your watch by it.

All my adult life has been a balancing act between enjoying form whilst it lasts and waiting for the other shoe to drop, but please don’t let me disabuse you of your rose tinted spectacles, that either makes you believe this kind of cycle didn’t happen 25-30 years ago or that somehow it was acceptable because footballers were real men back then or some other shit.

[HCZ_Reborn]

Raya, White, Saliba, Gabriel, Zinchenko, Rice, Havertz, Odegaard, Trossard, Jesus, Saka


Doubling down on Plan A it is then <_<

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Arsenal: Raya, White, Saliba, Gabriel, Zinchenko, Odegaard, Rice, Havertz, Saka, Gabriel Jesus, Trossard.
Subs: Ramsdale, Smith Rowe, Martinelli, Nketiah, Kiwior, Cedric, Jorginho, Nelson, Walters.

Crystal Palace: Henderson, Clyne, Andersen, Guehi, Mitchell,Lerma, Richards, Eze, Hughes, Mateta, Schlupp.
Subs: Johnstone, Tomkins, Matheus Franca, Edouard, Ebiowei, Ahamada, Riedewald, Adaramola, Ozoh.

[Mac76]

Wasn't expecting Zin back yet, thank god Olise isn't fit or he'd roast him alive

Interesting to see Trossard picked ahead of Martinelli too

[HCZ_Reborn]

Wasn't expecting Zin back yet, thank god Olise isn't fit or he'd roast him alive

Interesting to see Trossard picked ahead of Martinelli too

One

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Is it over a month since our last win? :lol:

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Case in point, Odegaard could have struck that first time with his right.

[HCZ_Reborn]

Is it over a month since our last win? :lol:

Yes…December 17th was our last win

[HCZ_Reborn]

Case in point, Odegaard could have struck that first time with his right.

You beat me to that one

[McNamara That Ghost...]

GABRIEL!!!

[HCZ_Reborn]

Another set piece goal :lol:

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Lerma heads on to his own bar!

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Good defending from Gabriel this time on that corner.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Raya saves after giving it straight to Lerma.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

GABRIEL!!!!

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Our next boss Graham Potter there. :bow:

[McNamara That Ghost...]

2-0 HT.

[Mac76]

Another set piece goal :lol:

Finally we're not playing corners to the near post, both goals are a result of our improving our corner taking

Me :bow:

[HCZ_Reborn]

Finally we're not playing corners to the near post, both goals are a result of our improving our corner taking

Me :bow:


Well it wouldn’t be the first time you’ve tried to dress up being wrong by pretending to be right, but no this isn’t the first time this season we’ve mixed it up from corners. I will assume of course that you’ll have the humility to keep quiet about Zinchenko….its in fairness an indictment on our attack when he’s been our most fruitful creative player and true your unprompted comment about him (part of your unhealthy obsession) was more about his defensive frailties…but still

[HCZ_Reborn]

And looks like Gabriel has had his second goal taken off him

It did hit Henderson before it went in, but I can’t see how it could be argued that it wasn’t going in anyway

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Raya saves from Eze.

Trossard. :haha:

[Letters]

Another set piece goal :lol:

That isn’t cheating.
We’ve long lamented how poor we are at those.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

TROSSARD!!!

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Does that count as a set piece goal? :ninja:

[HCZ_Reborn]

That isn’t cheating.
We’ve long lamented how poor we are at those.

I wasn’t criticising, I was laughing because that’s kind of become our salvation a bit this season

And because a certain someone who is now trying to claim they were right all along was arguing that stats didn’t matter and his eyes told him the truth that we’d been completely dog shit from set pieces this season (and yeah some of our set pieces have been)

[HCZ_Reborn]

Does that count as a set piece goal? :ninja:

Well it did come from a set piece

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Smith Rowe getting 20+ minutes. :faint:

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Trossard off, Martinelli on.

Havertz off, Smith Rowe on.

[HCZ_Reborn]

Rice does his hammy in by the look of it. So much for warm weather training

[McNamara That Ghost...]

MARTINELLI!!

[Letters]

Martinelli! 4-0.

Noice.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

MARTINELLI again!!

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Arsenal 5-0 Crystal Palace, FT! :bow:

[Letters]

We're BACK!

:lol:

[HCZ_Reborn]

So after 11 home games last season we had won 8, drawn twice and lost once.

Scored 27 goals and conceded 13

After 11 home games this season we have won 8, drawn twice and lost once


Scored 27 goals and conceded 10



The real problem seems to be away from home. Not saying we’ve been perfect at home….and I think seven points dropped at home is 7 points too many especially for a team that considers itself title challengers. But very different story if we hadn’t been so dismal going forward against Newcastle, dismal at taking our chances against Villa and dismal in general against Fulham

[Marc Overmars]

Didn’t see the game but nice to rack up the goals again.

[HCZ_Reborn]

Didn’t see the game but nice to rack up the goals again.

Yep. I only saw bits and pieces as I don’t have TNT and it’s so far beyond me to look at whether I get offered a free trial with EE or whether I just imagined that. But it felt to me that Palace were pretty languid Eze aside, and got completely done by zonal marking as well as at the end by Martinelli…but I think we changed things up, we did take our foot off the pedal a bit after 3-0, and predictable sloppiness at times but that’s me being super critical…the most worrying thing was Jesus and Rice coming off. Hopefully just a precaution

[Letters]

The real problem seems to be away from home.
Which is interesting. If Arteta has set us up more defensive this year then you’d think that would be more of a problem at home where most teams will try and sit back and make it hard for us. Away from home teams tend to have a go at us which should leave more space. And yet…

[Mac76]

I wasn’t criticising, I was laughing because that’s kind of become our salvation a bit this season

And because a certain someone who is now trying to claim they were right all along was arguing that stats didn’t matter and his eyes told him the truth that we’d been completely dog shit from set pieces this season (and yeah some of our set pieces have been)

So you slag me off then agree I'm right?

Oh and as for your pathetic counting my mentions of Zin, pray tell, how long did you spend in a dark room thinking that one up? :haha: if one thing shows you up as petty and obsessive it's that

[Mac76]

…the most worrying thing was Jesus and Rice coming off. Hopefully just a precaution

Err, no he was finally giving minutes to other players

Also Jesus was ineffectual in front of goal and Rice had his third or fourth off-game in a row

The relatively pro.lt use of subs yesterday were a marked improvement, not least giving ESR half an hour and he looked good

It wasn't a brilliant display overall but good enough, Odegaard was much better, we defended well and two goals from long-overdue decent corners made a mockery of how we've been playing so many to the near post

[HCZ_Reborn]

So you slag me off then agree I'm right?

Oh and as for your pathetic counting my mentions of Zin, pray tell, how long did you spend in a dark room thinking that one up? :haha: if one thing shows you up as petty and obsessive it's that


No I said at the time some of our set piece work (Newcastle for example) was rubbish, but at the same time in other games our set pieces including from corners were effective…and not by the way just me a number of other people told you the same thing but you argued blacks white that we were wrong.

[HCZ_Reborn]

Err, no he was finally giving minutes to other players

Also Jesus was ineffectual in front of goal and Rice had his third or fourth off-game in a row

The relatively pro.lt use of subs yesterday were a marked improvement, not least giving ESR half an hour and he looked good

It wasn't a brilliant display overall but good enough, Odegaard was much better, we defended well and two goals from long-overdue decent corners made a mockery of how we've been playing so many to the near post

Erm yes…Rice wasn’t taken off to give minutes to other players he was taken off because he was feeling his hamstring, even the TNT commentary team had picked up that he’d mouthed “Hammy” to the bench.

Jesus?, well quite possible I got that one mixed up with Gabriel (well they both have same name) but Gabriel M was taken off also as a precaution because he picked up a knock

[HCZ_Reborn]

So you slag me off then agree I'm right?

Oh and as for your pathetic counting my mentions of Zin, pray tell, how long did you spend in a dark room thinking that one up? :haha: if one thing shows you up as petty and obsessive it's that

Two…I’ve never claimed I wasn’t petty minded :lol: