Palace at home, a fixture that some Arsenal teams in the recent past must remember without fondness. In April of 2016, the season we should have won the title but faltered to allow Leicester City to live their dreams, Palace scored on a late counterattack, and the game ended 1-1 bringing home the sense that Arsenal’s title challenge was all but gone. This fixture’s history also includes the Emery era debacles of 2019, including the 2-3 loss in April when Mustafi’s defensive lapses had a direct role in all three Palace goals; and the 2-2 draw in October when the substituted Xhaka told the booing crowd what they should do. It seems fitting then to recall those games as a warning because Arsenal’s season now teeters on the edge of a mid season collapse, the club having lost three games successively in all competitions.
Fourth-placed Arsenal will kick off the second half of their season on Saturday lunchtime, home to Crystal Palace. I say that despite the fact that the Gunners have already played 20, or one more than the exact half, of their 38 fixtures. But the way the team appeared to have switched off in their New Year’s Eve defeat at Fulham suggests not only that a complete reset is required, but that the Fulham game must be consigned in the players’ minds to the season’s first half.
Arsenal have not taken all three points since their December 17th 2-0 home win against Brighton, so a positive result is imperative for the team to maintain any kind of title push. The successive defeats to West Ham and Fulham concluded a miserable end to 2023 when the Gunners won only one of their last five league matches, scored only five goals in their last seven matches in all competitions, and fell out of first place. Due to the Premier League’s new winter break, and the club’s warm weather training in Dubai, Arsenal have played only one match in 2024, nearly two weeks ago when they bowed out of the FA Cup to Liverpool despite dominating play and creating numerous chances in the first half.
The opposition
Assuming they manage to avoid relegation, Palace are likely to end the season in the bottom half of the table as they have done in every season but one since they were promoted in 2013. But Roy Hodgson knows how to frustrate attack minded opponents, and Palace can be expected to deploy a deep block of defenders in an attempt to prevent Arsenal from finding the perfect through ball.
The Eagles have won just one of their past 11 matches while suffering six defeats in that stretch, and they currently sit five points clear of the relegation zone in 14th position. In their 0-1 FA Cup defeat at Everton on Wednesday, Palace struggled to create opportunities while Hodgson’s substitution of young forward Eze was met with boos by some away supporters. Hodgson commented later, saying “I wouldn’t have wanted to see Eze taken off either, but we play on Saturday and we need people like Eze who is one of our very best players.”
In this season’s reverse fixture, our second game of the season, Arsenal’s 10 men kept a gritty away clean sheet playing with the seldom seen back five of left-back Tomiyasu, the recipient of two cheap second yellows, center-backs Saliba and White, right-back Partey and keeper Ramsdale. Raya, Gabriel and Zinchenko, all three of them first team regulars since that time, started on the bench. Ødegaard scored the game’s only goal on a penalty kick that was won by Nketiah from a quick free kick that caught the defence napping. Seeing as the Palace defense will almost certainly be difficult to break down again, Arsenal might need to come up with another instance of free kick magic in this one.
Arsenal XI
Left-back Zinchenko missed out against Fulham and Liverpool due to a calf problem but if he has recovered, must go right into the team. If the Ukrainian can’t make it, Jakub Kiwior stands ready to make his third successive start in his place. In Arteta’s pre-match presser he was non-committal on the question, saying “We are touch and go with a few, that’s what I would say.” But parsing Arteta’s words a bit further, other than a few tactical tweaks the team worked on in Dubai, I would not expect to see any changes from this familiar set-up:
Raya
White Saliba Gabriel Zinchenko
Ødegaard Rice Havertz
Saka Jesús Martinelli
The ‘holic pound
Seeing as it’s an early kickoff following the winter break, I wouldn’t be surprised if the game begins slowly and halftime comes around without any goals scored. But I’ll take a punt on the giant awakening in the second half, and the Gunners putting two second half salvos into the Palace net, with our defense keeping a clean sheet. It’s anybody’s guess really, how well we will respond, but I’m inserting a tinge of optimism into the new year’s uncertainty, and predicting a refreshing Arsenal 2 Palace 0.
Have a good one, ‘holics, and Happy New Year to all who’re still reading.
Your usual well researched and comprehensive preview Bt8 , but I think you are a little pessimistic . Palace are likely to be missing Olise who would have created problems for Kiwior but their attacking threat revolves around Eze as Ayew who has a good record against us is at the AFCON .
We should be ready to kick on . This game was a comfortable 4-1 win last season and I think we will take it 3-0 . I expect Jesus and Saka to be on the scoresheet
I’m somewhere between bt8’s ‘pessimism’ and TTG’s optimism.
Just win.
Cheers bt8.
A gritty and nervy 2-1 win for me.
Though really, it’s as BtM says. After the recent results, any win will do.
Thanks, bt8, for a perfect if painful perspective on a fixture that hasn’t been great for us in the recent past.
Apparently ESR has been a bit of a star in Dubai – I’d love to see him given a start instead of 3 minutes to rescue us at the end of a game. He has something different to our too predictable other midfielders and I’d hate to see him lost to the club without another genuine chance to establish himself.
Whoever does play needs to get on the front foot and properly support our double marked wingers. Hopefully, shooting practice was high on the training agenda in Dubai.
Is Dubai really a place in the Middle East or were the players just visiting Debbie from Birmingham ? 😳
A perfectly crafted cautionary tale, bt8. TTG leavens this with some optimism about Palace’s absentees. Therefore I’m with BtM on my expectations from this game. However anything less than a victory by at least a two goal margin in our favour will be à disappointing yardstick of what this team will achieve this season.
Good going, bt8. As comprehensive and well researched as ever. We should win — and that sound if we don’t will be wheels falling off — but the margin of victory may turn on how early we score.
Thanks bt8
I’d be happy with 2-0. I’d be even happier with 5-0.
If it comes to it, I’d take 1-0.
A win is a must.
UTA.
Half an hour delay announced. Due to too many passengers this morning at French border.
It’s not even the holidays. No idea why today should be worse..
Thanks bt8 for some fine scene setting, 2-0 would be fine with me.
And good luck to Ollie too.
A fine preview bt8 – you have set the match up nicely.
No real news from MA who isn’t available – so will there be any surprises? Will the break in Dubai clear his head and try something a little different? ESR looks in good fettle and this match would be a good opportunity to give him a run out.
Palace are in bit of a funk right now, a couple of their better players are missing, it’s set up for a morale boosting win for the good guys – how much depends if tbe forwards have found their mislaid scoring boots.
COYRRR
Stuck to the half hour delay, so just arriving. Cheers Matt.
Enjoy the match all, from near or far away!
Cheers bt8!
Arsenal: Raya, White, Saliba, Gabriel, Zinchenko, Rice, Havertz, Odegaard, Saka, Trossard, Jesus (99%)
Arsenal: Raya, White, Saliba, Gabriel, Zinchenko, Rice, Havertz, Odegaard, Saka, Trossard, Jesus
Subs: Ramsdale, Cedric, Walters, Kiwior, Jorginho, Smith Rowe, Nelson, Nketiah, Martinelli
Leo in for Gabi then. Strong attacking bench but we’re certainly short on defenders. Japan lost the other day, I hope they go out and Tomi can come back soon.
COYRRR
Get in! Gabriel towering
Free kick magic and a Groovy Gabriel finish!
Credit to Zinchenko too for the great through ball that preceded the winning of the corner we scored on.
Paul Tierney’s imitation of the Howard Webb hairdo is a heresy (hair-essy?)
Havertz pushed over in the box, lucky not to be booked to be honest after seeing a replay.
Our new goal machine notches another!
Assist for Ben 😉
I might be a bit annoyed if I was a Palace fan but keeper was weak
Gabriel is winning everything in the air at set pieces, Palace have finally changed the defender marking him.
Great move but unfortunately Leo lashed wildly over.
He has played fine though. Zin had a good half too,
From the ground I can report
a) It’s bloody cold
b) We’re quite good at corners today.
Easy first half watch, leastways no early morning heart attack inducing moments. Were all of those reserved for the second half?
Thank you fort those keen insights from the ground, c100. 😆
I wouldn’t have known about the cold.
Oh, and c100. You are not the only one who loves it when we score on corners
No heart attacks and three points please.
Be nice if a forward scored too 😃
Seems the second one is a Henderson own goal now not for Gabriel. My son, who has Gabriel in the fantasy league is very annoyed.
Penalty for a push on Saka? Would have been harsh I think. We should have scored anyway.
Great quick throw from Raya, nicely weighted pass from Jesus,
and a good finish from Leo 3-0
Pleased for Raya.
ESR coming on early!
On for Kai and Gabi for Leo.
Now Jorginho for Rice.
Game petering out, I just want ESR to score and a clean sheet.
Gabi goal is back! Scoring quicker than I can type and it’s a 5-0 tonking
We needed that win and the smiling faces again.
That will do quite well for a freshly freshened slate, thank you Arsenal .
I was right all along. It was Saka’s Barnet that caused the recent goal drought. He went back to his old haircut today and got rid of the ginger colouring. We score five.
the “dubai effect”.
That was the win we needed, and the performance was solid, if not spectacular. The two late goals plumped up the scoreline but Arteta will be pleased by the start that got the early goal and then the control exerted over the game thereafter.
Rice should get high praise for his corner kick for the first goal. That is how to take an inswinger. Undefendable at the near post and havoc-causing at the far.
What’s the word on Declan?
C100@41 Suspected hamstring injury of unknown seriousness, but he has ten days until the next game.
Arteta says Rice was subbed as a precautionary measure.
Gabriel has a knee injury that Arteta hopes is ‘not too serious’.
TTG, suggest you work on your optimism, bit cautious there with the 3-0 prediction old chap. 🙂
Btm
I am a finely honed machine( as you know). My prediction was based on the score at 90 minutes not this injury time stuff ! I was wrong with the scorers though. Jesus worked really hard but was offside more than Adebayor!
I did like ESR’s cameo . He looked very up for it .
Well that was enjoyable in the end. We didn’t play brilliantly in the first half, but then we didn’t need to. Good corners, controlled play and for 9nce, no silly mistake. Not that Palace were any good, they offered absolutely nothing apart from the odd flash from Eze. All we needed in the second half was not to make a silly mistake at 2-0 and the excellent third goal killed the game as a contest. Two perfect Martinelli finishes were good for his confidence and our GD.
I didn’t see the game, Ollie but that was the game that I heard (most of). Pleased to hear too from the finely honed machine (Rolling Royce?) that ESR had a fine cameo. He came on for KH29 I believe? How did their contributions compare, TTG?
Btm
I noticed ESR more in his 25 minute cameo than Havertz in his longer stint but Havertz didn’t have a bad game . My issue is that I don’t see a quality that he brings that we didn’t have before .
Lord knows I was critical of Xhaka for many years but when he was moved forward into the left sided role he brought a combination of strength, passing and an instinct for goals we hadn’t seen before . Havertz has not yet been as effective in that role .
ESR came on with the game won and the match stretched but his running and distribution lifted the team . I’d give him 7.5 and Havertz 6.5 but I was watching on the telly so some of those who were there will have a more complete view
I think Havertz had a good game. His movement at corners was instrumental to our chances as he caused chaos in the defence. Watch the highlights and if they offer a wide angle shot, you will see him starting really deep on the far side of the box from the corner taker. He draws a defender towards him, darts past his attempted block and joins the throng in the centre of the six-yard box as the ball comes over. Moreover he always made himself available for an out ball as we worked it through midfield.
ESR took a little time to get into the game but his running with the ball through midfield added threat and he did contribute to the spectacular finish as Palace lost energy and heart.
We didn’t really offer the sparkling performance you might expect from a 5-0 scoreline but we did control the game though apart from Eze and their defensive wall, Palace were poor. The first half was mainly that familiar old failure to engineer chances from open play despite much possession and near-total control, our build-ups were generally too slow and too deliberate and too easy to shut out. Hence, the set piece goals were very important to the outcome.
We could have scored a couple of lovely goals from breakouts before Trossard scored the third and Martinelli’s after burners delivered the final pair of Henry-esque goals that put the somewhat flattering icing on the cake.
It’s a result that is good for our GD and confidence though and it’s about time we scored from open play!
All to play for.
Assist courtesy of yet another Eurostar delay, stopped in the middle of nowhere between Lille and Paris.
Well it turnes into the actual half century instead…
Yeah, bath”s assessment of KH and ESR is fair.
Raya was also fine, catching balls on top of the two-three good saves he had to make, I thought he looked fairly assured today, which hasn’t always been the case.
Well in for the half ton, Ollie.
Ollie’s assessment of Raia is also fair. He took several high balls well under pressure. Only one gaff with a pass out of the box that fortunately came to naught but his throw that led to Trossard’s goal was excellent.
We went out of the Youth Cup 7-1 against Liverpool tonight .
A very disappointing result
I know more about Eurostar service on a Saturday evening than if I had a Eurostar live service App. Hope Ollie is in Paris by now.
Any team with Will Hughes in it is likely to lose 5 nil. A championship/spurs level player at best.
As for Havertz, one major improvement is he seems a lot braver out of possession. He was hiding a bit at the beginning of the season. Obviously gaining confidence.
Heh, cheers SP! Just arrived. Waiting for my local train to depart now, should be home in less than half an hour if that bit goes well
And you jest, but you are actually right. The bit with live trains updates on the Eurostar is often wrong. My train was announced as being ‘on time’ (yet not ‘arrived’) on the app even 15 minutes after the ETA, when we were just approaching.
Well in for the half-ton, Ollie — arriving late yet perfectly on time.
Fair comments above on Raya’s performance. He did well today.
TTG@54: Reading the match report, the scoreline might flatter Liverpool, although our lack of clinical finishing allowed the Scousers to stay in the game when we should have been a couple of goals ahead early on. The yoof dippers’ subsequent finishing was highly clinical, however.
The biggest reason for the improvement in our set pieces was simply the quality of delivery . The two corners by Rice ( a new taker?) and Saka were superb. So often recently Trossard and Martinelli have failed to beat the first man . There was clever movement and blocking but unless the cross is good enough nothing else matters
Excellent point TTG @60. Our corner delivery was deadly today. I don’t believe that I’ve noticed Rice taking corners for us before. He’s clearly rather good at it on today’s showing.
TTG@60: Absolutely, as per my @40.
Btw @47 – for my two penn’orth and from my seat in the lower tier behind the goal, I tend to agree with TTG re Havertz and Smith-Rowe. Havertz had some nice touches and provided some good link up play. ESR really got into the game and drove it more. ESR doesn’t provide a lot defensively, however and needs to develop that side of his game as that is one of Arteta’s nin-negotiable, whereas Havertz did a lot of back and forth while on. But for £65m I think we ought to be getting rather more than that. That I thought this was one of Havertz better games tells its own story.
BtM, apologies in the drink above.
I thought we played better against West Ham and Liverpool but excellent corners (have I mentioned that I love it when we score from corners?) and three top breakaway goals with clinical finishing made for an enjoyable afternoon. Palace were woeful.
Now another 10 day break before Forest away. I’m looking forward to visiting another of my favourite grounds again.
https://x.com/gunsandribbons/status/1748817666226237945?s=48&t=QtYNyZI3id_tZczYpxTpDQ
CER, I sincerely hope that Havertz develops into the player MA8 thinks he can be. I just hope that course isn’t run at ESR’s expense. Your point on Emile’s defensive game is well made.
I noticed a few empty seats in Club Level yesterday so perhaps for the Liverpool game I’ll get something on ticket exchange. TTG has come up with this cunning scheme whereby if I drink 20 pints of the free beer their the cost of the ticket comes for free also.
>>>>>>>