{"id":2174,"date":"2021-01-13T17:56:56","date_gmt":"2021-01-13T17:56:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/?p=2174"},"modified":"2021-01-15T00:35:48","modified_gmt":"2021-01-15T00:35:48","slug":"time-to-get-some-wins","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/?p=2174","title":{"rendered":"\u201cTime to get some wins\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Never a truer word Mikel!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This week the recently resurgent Reds will host Crystal Palace in a game that provides an opportunity for us to win four premier matches in a row for the first time since October 2018. Not a great statistic that and it actually quite shocked me when I read it, though I don\u2019t know why as our infuriating inconsistency seems to have been our one constant. However, regardless of all the guff about every team in the Premier League being competitive etc. etc., this is The Arsenal we are talking about and not to have won four in a row in the league for more than two years is a stat that I would very much like consigned to the dustbin. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As we are on statistics I would also say we haven\u2019t won in our last four league games against Palace either, nor have we won after any of the three Goonerholics Forever previews I have written in the PL this season. How the players can heartlessly heap humiliation on a lifelong supporter such as myself is beyond me, though that being said the actual point of these cautionary tales is to remind us of the need for feet to be kept firmly on the ground. Recent history is not on our side for this game. We may even need those mugs, masks and memorabilia that several of you have been claiming (without credible evidence I might topically add at this point) are responsible for the welcome upturn in our fortunes. For upturn they have, and as we reach mid January we have returned to mid-table, and still have two cups to chase. Mikel has already put the next steps very clearly, <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe need to get our home form established, we\u2019ve had some issues there and now it\u2019s time to get some wins. We\u2019ve got two at home right now <\/em>(Palace and Newcastle) that are going to be key for the future of our season in the Premier League\u2026\u2026\u201d  <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I can but agree, win these to take us to the halfway point in the league season in good heart and then think about challenging for a top four place. If, and it is still a big if, we can mount a credible challenge in the second half of this season it would certainly represent an impressive turnaround led by a manager still in the early days of what we all hope will be a long and distinguished career as manger of The Arsenal. It is often in adversity that we learn the most about who we are and what is important. From that perspective October and November were certainly generous in providing lessons. Let\u2019s just hope they\u2019ve been learned. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other cheering news this week has come in the form of Rob Holding signing a new contract \u2013 a demonstration to any player at the club that through effort and performance you can change Mikel\u2019s mind \u2013 and the news that young Gabi\u2019s injury is not as bad as feared. Martinelli will not I believe be available for selection for the Palace game but it is a far better outcome than initially expected and it is a welcome change to see one of our players get a break of the right sort. The best of luck to him of course, but it is time now to turn our thoughts to those who are available. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Men Who Matter<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Selecting the side is I think, barring late injuries, a far easier task than the last FA Cup game against Newcastle. So, without further ado I present to you\u2026\u2026\u2026..<\/p>\n\n\n\n

   Leno<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bellerin Holding Gabriel Tierney<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Xhaka Ceballos<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Saka Smith-Rowe Aubameyang<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lacazette<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With the exception of Gabriel for Mari it is the same side that demolished West Brom. Mari has done nothing wrong but Gabriel was one of our few successes before his recent enforced absence, plus of course it won\u2019t cost us 900k to play him. I jest of course because regardless of that contract situation with Flamenco* (we pay an additional 900K each time he completes 10 games up to a maximum of 80 games and so actually I assume we will have to pay next time he plays unless there is a time limit aspect to the contract), I would still play Gabriel as I think his slightly better mobility will be more useful against this Palace attack. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

*I should add I have no idea whether this press report is accurate, seems a bit pricey to me for an unknown defender but what do I know<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The last time we beat Palace was a 4-1 thrashing in January 2018. Three long years, three draws and a defeat later it is past time to do it again. Only three of the starting XI from that day are likely to start – Hector, Xhaka and Laca who scored our fourth in the 22nd<\/sup> minute from an Ozil assist after goals from Nacho and Kos had given us a three goal lead. As well as the much-missed (by me) Nacho, Kos, Ozil and the inimitable Jack, our side that day featured a central midfield duo of Xhaka and Elneny. Make of that what you will. Three years later it is quite possible they may play again \u2013 and to be fair may suit this game against a scrappy Palace midfield. Oh sorry everyone. Typo! A crappy Palace midfield I meant to say! Anyway, rather than dwell on our already exhaustively discussed problems in CM let\u2019s move swiftly to one of the solutions \u2013 I believe we will welcome Thomas back to the squad for this game if not the starting XI. Will he start though? MA took the risk against the marshdwellers and it backfired. Once bitten, Mikel? To be honest I would start him though I know many would think that reckless. As you will see from my XI above I don\u2019t think Mikel will. Either way, I certainly look forward to his return, whether it\u2019s tomorrow or in the next couple of games. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I look forward even more to seeing our front four continue their recent good form and hope that we are about to see Auba return to his normal self.  Fingers crossed that smile is back and we will be team that has got 10 in the last 4 games and not the one that got 7 in 12 in the dark days of late autumn and early winter. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Opposition<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Crystal Palace, known to their fans as The Eagles due to Zaha\u2019s spectacular swoops to the ground in each and every bloody game, are currently 13th<\/sup>. It has been a standard season for them so far, a couple of good wins and a couple of whackings, leavened with several draws to see them looking unlikely to go down. Palace are managed by Roy Hodgson, who has done well enough for them, though I would add in all seriousness that when you consider Roy is in his seventies, I really wonder if it is good idea for him to continue attending games given the rising numbers of positive tests. Perhaps I am overthinking it but anyway I hope he will be fine. As for their players, well, Ayew has scored in each of our last two games against Palace, which is just annoying really as he isn\u2019t very good. They also have a skillful young player called Eze who, if he is not banned for a recent quarantine breach, will bear watching but other than that they will feed everything through to Zaha as usual. It is not a mystery and hopefully our defence will be on our toes and not his. Although I have nothing against Palace their essential ‘meh’-ness defeats further analysis I\u2019m afraid, so we will have to leave it there. In summary, I don\u2019t much care which starting XI they put out as they are mediocre and the only question is whether we can rise above it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Holic Pound<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The last time we kept a clean sheet against Palace was January 2017, a fairly routine 2-0 win that in truth I have already forgotten (though a quick check tells me that, to my amusement, Xhaka and Elneny started that day too). The same 2-0 would suit me fine this time round though the odds are only a fraction over a skinny 7\/1. A more adventurous bet on a repeat of the 4-1 win from January 2018 is available at 30\/1 and looks fair value to me. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That about wraps it up folks, thanks for having me as always and I hope we can all enjoy a free-flowing display resulting in the following brief post match TV interview\u2026\u2026\u2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sky Drone: well Roy, your team didn\u2019t play badly but in the end that was quite a beating. Your thoughts on the game?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Roy Hodgson: Yes, drone, it was that but hardly surprising as after all they are the Arsenal and they are the Best.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Never a truer word Mikel! This week the recently resurgent Reds will host Crystal Palace in a game that provides an opportunity for us to win four premier matches in a row for the first time since October 2018. Not a great statistic that and it actually quite shocked me when I read it, though […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[5],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2174"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2174"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2174\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2187,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2174\/revisions\/2187"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2174"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2174"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2174"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}