Arsenal consolidated their hold on top spot with a hard won 1-0 victory over Crystal Palace at Ashburton Grove yesterday. As so often happens the defining moment of the match involved a player who had worn the colours of the opposition when we last met, Eberechi Eze scoring a spectacular scissor volley a few minutes before halftime to settle the game. That must have been a bitter pill for Palace fans to swallow.
May I begin with an apology. I have mislaid my contributions schedule and didn’t produce the report as quickly as I would normally wish to do. This report will be a little more reflective rather than a blow by blow account and will also examine the contrasting opinions that people have expressed to me about the game.
Arsenal made two changes from the team that put Atletico to the sword on Tuesday night with Trossard replacing Martinelli and Calafiori regaining his place at left back from MLS. Palace had amazingly lost to the fifth best team in Cyprus on Thursday evening and had started a very strong team in that game. They were at full strength for this one too and set up with their customary three men at the back and two raiding wing backs.
I watched the game on television, Sky attempting to show all of the games kicking off at 2pm and not giving this one the main event treatment. I found the first half a trifle tedious notwithstanding the fact that Palace are an extremely difficult side to play against but the game seemed attritional and we weren’t able to make any serious headway against a very solid Palace side.
A couple of sloppy passes by Zubimendi were uncharacteristic and put us under pressure and Saliba failed to shepherd Mateta to safety resulting in attacks that saw Raya save from Sarr who was then ruled offside and then our defence blocked a speculative drive. We didn’t generate a goal attempt ourselves until after the half hour when Trossard saw a low effort well saved by Henderson but we did not have long to wait for the defining moment of the match. Pino gave away an unnecessary free kick on the right about thirty five yards from goal. Rice floated it in, Lacroix headed it away from Gabriel to the edge of the area. It came at an awkward height to Eze who executed an acrobatic scissor volley getting over the ball and smashing it into the right hand corner. His celebration was understandably subdued but the Arsenal players mobbed him enthusiastically, realising what a significant strike this was likely to be.
Arsenal 1 Palace 0 – Eze
When you are a counter-attacking team like Palace falling behind changes their perspective on the game. They set up with a low block, a five man defence and looked to catch Arsenal on the break. Now they faced a rejuvenated Arsenal side, a noisier crowd and had to find a way to get a grip on a match that had taken a negative turn as far as they were concerned. Despite a subdued Arsenal performance several players stood out. Timber was continually pouring forward to help Saka and on one occasion to retain possession against four Palace players. He was also his usual conscientious self from a defensive point of view. He is a quite outstanding player. Rice was industrious and able to vary play with long passes to the wing, Eze looked increasingly dangerous although the absence of Ødegaard robs us of a hugely effective midfield link man. Gyökeres worked extraordinarily hard but was often isolated from colleagues. At the back Gabriel was his usual imperious self. The goal came at a very good time and we led a tight game at halftime.
Half-time Arsenal 1 Palace 0
When the teams re-emerged Mosquera had replaced Saliba and Arsenal were much more assertive and took the game to Palace earning their first corners of the match. Gabriel thumped the bar with a header and Trossard showed some tricky footwork down the left in one of his more lively performances. We couldn’t add a second goal and eventually Palace who had brought Nketiah on to support Mateta carried more threat but we managed the game pretty well.
It was disturbing to see Saka and Rice removed. Saka had seemed under the weather from the start but occupied two Palace defenders while he was on. Martinelli who came in on the right had suffered a pre- match knock apparently and Rice was replaced by Merino with what appeared to be a combination of calf and Achilles problems. Let us hopes these knocks aren’t significant .
The game ended with Palace applying some pressure and Arsenal looking to find Gyökeres on breakaways. It gave the impression that we were holding on to a certain extent but I preferred to view it as Arsenal shutting down the Palace attack in what was a natural consequence of the rhythm of a tight game.
Full Time – Arsenal 1 Palace 0
After the match it was interesting to hear from several people who were at the game who regarded it as an enthralling encounter and those who had watched on television where it came across as a much flatter, dour affair.
I would have nominated Gabriel as Man of the Match but Timber, Rice and Trossard did well, Eze improved as the game went on and Gyökeres toiled manfully upfront.
One thing that heartened me was that Eddie Nketiah was given a fine welcome by Arsenal fans when he came on and Eze was similarly applauded by Palace fans when he was substituted near the end. Contrast this with the recent mean-spirited response of West Ham fans to Declan Rice who led that benighted club to their only success in aeons and behaved impeccably when leaving the club.
It was another excellent weekend. We did not expect our nearest challengers to be Sunderland and it was heartening to see C130y and Liverpool fall to defeats, after Chelsea had capitulated to the Mackems. The first quarter of the season has gone very well. Fingers crossed we can continue to play with the control we have exhibited so far.
Apologies to end this report on a sad note but I was so sorry to learn of the death of Steve Ashford ‘The Highbury Spy’, a long-time Gooner contributor and a controversial one. Steve had been fighting leukaemia for a while and dragged himself to games for a few months after his treatment. I often disagreed with him but never doubted his love for the club. Rest in Peace, mate! Let us hope we can win the title for him. A lot of us in this bar will drink to that!
Many thanks for your fine reporT TTG.
Thanks for a good report TTG. I prefer a reflective report rather than a blow by blow one. I was at the game and found it a tense exciting match between two good teams. There was a degree of nervousness as we couldn’t find the second goal and the jeopardy kept the interest. We’ve all been there when we’ve gone ahead but then blown it late and palace are certainly capable.
Given the niggles it’s going to be very interesting to see what team we put out on Wednesday in the Carabao Cup. I’d certainly like to see Dowman on the right and Nwaneri at 10.
An interesting report, TTG, especially your observation about the differing reactions of those in the ground and those who had watched it on TV. As one of the latter, I wasn’t struck with the impression it was a flat and dour game. Palace kept us playing 25 metres deeper than we wanted to, which may have contributed to the impression of a flat first half. Yet, as you rightly note, they are a good side, much more than the sum of their parts, and they took some breaking down. An Arsenal performance to be appreciated, even if one takes the view that it was not one to be relished.
Sancho Panza@previous drinks. Thanks for the Mike McDonald link. Another good read. Reupping for those who missed it https://gunnerstown.com/arsenal/2025/10/24/playing-against-arsenal-positives-needs-hopes-ars-4-0-atl/
OM@previous drinks: Credit where credit is due — which allows a reminder that the GHF Predictathon leaderboard for Matchweek 9 has been posted. You’ll find it in the usual place, along with an OM-inspired bonus chart this week.
Great observations & insights TTG!
This is undoubtedly the hardest working Arsenal team I have ever seen, but the longtime supporters familiar with various incarnations of pre-Wenger Arsenal may have other examples in mind. The great early years of Wenger, when I had started following Arsenal, had produced teams that were frequently capable of a sublime ruthlessness that this team doesn’t yet possess, but in terms of workrate both on and off the ball this Arsenal is possibly the best I have ever seen. Maybe in all of football.
That does present its challenges. There will likely be greater number of minor niggling injuries and the odd major one compared to our competitors, and rotation would be key in keeping the squad refreshed. Winning every three days without conceding definitely helps in keeping the spirits and confidence high, thus minimizing the psychological impact of fatigued limbs.
Everywhere in the team, whether it’s Timber on the right or Gyökeres upfront or Rice in the middle, the amount of both lateral and vertical movements the players put in is remarkable. One undermentioned consequence of that type of workrate is the trust it generates in the players in each other. Palace was impressively organized and demonstrated great discipline, and in Mateta in current form they have one of the best counter attacking outlet (not necessarily goalscorer) in the league. And in the last ten odd minutes when we were forced to defend, the benefit of that type of trust in each other was visible as no one overcommitted themselves in challenge, no one tried to second guess a teammate, and there was no panic even when the entire team uncharacteristically stayed on the defensive third. Raya’s positioning and command of the box was also impeccable.
The other results this weekend were a clear demonstration of how difficult this league is becoming year after year, and every single win needs to be earned. Burnley and Sunderland away await in the league before the international break, and they will be stern tests as well.
Thanks TTG, it’s a good piece on the game with plenty to think about as usual.
Good to hear we gave Eddie a warm welcome, he was a decent player but it is
a big ask for anyone to get in this squad now.
Quite agree on Timber too, excellent player. I thought Tomi was a bit
unlucky when Ben White took his place and now I feel the same for
Benjamin himself but I cannot argue with Timber’s class,
On to Brighton and like C100, I’d like to see Dowman and Nwaneri.
Given that Kepa, White, MLS, Mosquera, Hincapie, Norgaard, Merino
are all likely to start we should have a fairly strong side.
The praise for Timber is justified. He has been outstanding so far this season. I can’t see Benny Blanco getting back into the team at the moment, except by rotation.
TTG’s usual high quality summary.
I watched on TV and enjoyed the game. I didn’t think Palace did set up with a low block. They certainly set up in a fashion designed to stifle our every effort to get out of our own half. I was very impressed by their hard and fast pressing as a consequence of which until we scored we’d had 73% possession but only one (Trossard’s) shot on goal and had played much of the game in or close to the centre circle. Saka had hardly touched the ball before he did and was fouled and we scored.
Palace have an excellent manager and a strong, talented, competitive squad. It isn’t in the least bit surprising that they battered Liverpool and have been unbeaten for much of the season.
Mikel set the team up to control the game and, in particular, not to let Palace score first which we did with aplomb despite a couple of surprising misplaced passes. In the second half the handbrake came off and had Gabriel’s header onto the bar gone in for 2-0, the game might have turned to a higher scoring outcome. What’s not to like?
Highlights for me were our team’s total commitment to winning every ball and not conceding under any circumstance. Mosquera looks like the second coming of Big Willy and Hincapie looks like a better investment in a defender than the £squillions the BinDippers have spent on avoiding Van Dyke’s Saudi adventure.
Victor worked hard but isn’t quite at the point where his first touch, control and pace are at the level required. He had at least two opportunities where Haaland would most likely have scored. However, having said that, Haaland missed two golden chances at Villa and didn’t put in a fraction of Victor’s work rate over 90 minutes, on the basis of which I’d say Victor had the better day.
Did MLS move into the left midfield role when he came on? I was expecting/hoping he would but I’m not sure that was the result of his entry. Hopefully we’ll see him play there on Wednesday night when Hurzeler the despicable and his ankle cloggers come to town.
NLFE
@7, Ned, I’m hoping to see a lot of that rotation when Ben White is fully fit. He, Saka and Odegaard are a powerful trio and Ben’s willingness to go wide when Saka comes inside differs nicely from Timber’s more natural tendency to burrow inward into the penalty box.
Both players may well represent their countries at the next World Cup in the right back position.
A most enjoyable report, TTG.
Despite the high octane contributions of Timber, Gabriel, Rice, Trossard and Gyökeres, this game, viewed from the Clock End Upper Tier appeared to be more of a chess game than one of our exhilarating free-flowing performances. However that was down firstly to the quality of Palace and their well thought out strategies to blunt our attacks and also to our cerebral response to that challenge. But for our defensive discipline and vigour we might have lost or drawn this game to Palace’s early drives or their late onslaught and but for Eze’s brilliant technique we would not have won it unless either of Gabriel’s brave efforts had gone in rather than the ball or the man himself striking woodwork.
I can readily understand why Arteta felt that this was our most important recent win. Job done. On to the next challenge. They’re coming thick and fast! I hope that our walking wounded heal quickly.
Cheers TTG.
I think the view from the North Bank Upper was not too dissimilar to that from the other end, if I am comparing my impressions with bath’s.
Well summarised and well analysed thanks, TTG !
I did eventually manage to get the Sky Sports coverage in Mallorca and, maybe being in holiday mode, it provided less fun and more frustration than I’d have liked. That wasn’t due to a poor Arsenal performance though – I thought every one of our players worked extremely hard to do their jobs. Frustration, though, is exactly what Palace intended to cause us and they too have very hard working players instructed by a manager who knows his tactical onions.
Glasner’s back three and two wing backs enabled them to double up on both of our wingers and their two central midfielders were quick to join the back three to make life nigh on impossible for Gyokeres. His first touch is not elite but he had absolutely no room for error when marked or surrounded by two or sometimes three defenders. I feel we need to get someone closer to him in order to stretch defenders to give him a bit more space to work in – and then we need to move the ball at speed into those spaces. We haven’t quite got it worked out yet but maybe a Nwaneri or Odegaard could push up to do that.
Good to see that our almost guaranteed by all eight point deficit to Liverpool has turned into a four point lead over the intervening three weeks. Rotation will be key to keeping players fit and Arteta has a task and a half ahead of him to pick the right combinations for the right games. There are, as we know, no easy ones.
Oops, apologies ! Our lead over Liverpool is, of course, seven points – not four !
A shot at a clean sheet October if the defence can keep up the good work tomorrow
Matt @14, I think that’s a tall order given the changes that will be imposed by recent trauma and essential rest. Nice though, if we can achieve that.
Some very good points Trev- thanks .
I find the media in the UK particularly annoying when we have a very strong team and especially when we lead the table . The mood among so many commentators is that it will be abject failure if we don’t win the league with the quality of squad we’ve bought . No credit for the astuteness of buying, the ambition of the owners , the deployment by Arteta and the consistency of Arsenal’s form. This doesn’t suit the ‘ bottlers ‘ narrative but if we lose a few points the ‘ bottlers’ tag is waiting on the shelf to be nailed to us were we to slip .
The other thing that we’ve been assailed with is the comparison with Stoke ( can’t remember wilfully breaking opponents’ legs but it suits the media to compare us although everyone uses long throws this season) . Yes, we are efficient at set pieces – and why wouldn’t you want to be? But I think the media are trying to suggest we never score any other sort of goal.
Sunday’s effort by Eze wasn’t really a direct set piece goal. The ball was cleared and fell in another phase of play to Eze who produced a beautifully athletic finish . I hope we ( team and crowd ) don’t get obsessed with set pieces because any side with Saka, Odegaard, Eze, Rice, Martinelli , Merino and Trossard let alone Gyokeres doesn’t have to depend on set pieces to the exclusion of everything else . I’m sure open play goals will ramp up and increase as a proportion of our total as the season progresses.
An excellent analysis of the game by Adrian Clarke illustrating the problems that Palace caused us:
TTG -when you constantly have to play against low blocks where there is no space to create and get shots away from open play, the shots you do take are often deflected for corners. When you do get them why on earth wouldn’t you want to be flipping brilliant at them ?
Opta did an analysis in April of set-piece goals in the Premier League (that’s corners, free kicks and long throws). It found that 36.6% of goals across the league came from set pieces. We scored the most from corners, but overall we ranked only fourth, behind Palace, Villa and Everton.
Bath@17: Thanks for the Adrian Clarke link. Pretty sound analysis that I think would reflect the consensus view here in the bar.
No Saliba or Little Gabi for tomorrow. Saka, Calafiori and Rice are fine.
C100@21, I always think of Martinelli as Medium Gabi, even though he’s the youngest of the Gabis.
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