{"id":9093,"date":"2024-01-21T14:06:18","date_gmt":"2024-01-21T14:06:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/?p=9093"},"modified":"2024-01-29T07:54:42","modified_gmt":"2024-01-29T07:54:42","slug":"if-you-start-me-up","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/?p=9093","title":{"rendered":"If You Start Me Up\u2026"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

I got my first car as a college sophomore. It was the missing piece in my freedom puzzle. A 1988 black, Plymouth Reliant K-Car sedan with red, leather interior; that car shuttled me around north Florida and up and down the U.S. east coast during most of the 1990s. It ran great but, occasionally, the engine just wouldn\u2019t start no matter what I did. The Arsenal of this past Festive period (especially the part where we failed to put the ball in the back of the net) called to mind memories of the Black Hornet when the damned engine just wouldn\u2019t start. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Lineups.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

After winless results from our last three premier league matches, we needed to take all three points hosting a hapless Palace team. I admit, however, the team news of Trossard starting in place of Martinelli didn\u2019t convince me that we would begin the game with all pistons firing. As we\u2019ll see, that substitution might turn out to have been a master stroke. Arteta relied on a now familiar formation at the kick-off:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          Raya<\/p>\n\n\n\n

White\u2014Saliba\u2014Gabriel\u2014Zinchenko<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        \u00d8degaard\u2014Rice\u2014Havertz<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            Saka\u2014Jesus\u2014Trossard<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I am unsure what to actually say about Palace. Although I have no time for the way they treated Vieira, I still have a soft spot for the Eagles. Selhurst Park is one of the grounds I have personally attended (a solid venue), and Roy Hodgson seems a reasonably honorable man. A longtime servant of the game, he just seems to be that guy who always has a few Werther\u2019s Originals at the ready in his coat pocket. You know\u2026for the kids. But, that said, Palace have been so poor. Injuries, questionable personnel moves, and a toothless attack have transformed a solidly mid-table team into one, I fear, destined for a relegation scrap. Happily for us, Roy set-up to constrict central spaces and perhaps eke out a draw:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Mateta<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Eze\u2014Hughes\u2014Lerma\u2014 Schlupp<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  Mitchell\u2014Guehi\u2014Andersen\u2014Richards\u2014Clyne<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Henderson<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Perhaps it was the lack of Dubai\u2019s sun and warmth or maybe it was the angst of expectation, but, after a rousing, scarf-waiving rendition of North London Forever, Arsenal\u2019s attack didn\u2019t exactly roar to life. We possessed the ball, probed, and recycled. \u00d8degaard did \u00d8degaard-things, Jesus did Jesus-things, and we took the territory meekly offered by Palace. Our offensive engine did threaten to sputter to life as the lively Benjamin White made some confident, early passes over the top to Saka, as well as a couple of bold overlapping runs and Trossard won a corner from an incisive Zinchenko line-splitting pass. It\u2019s obvious now that, while the gaffer was visiting Salt Bae, set-piece coach Nicolas Jover was busily putting the lads through their paces in Dubai. Rice\u2019s enticing delivery, and a pick scheme that would have made Bill Laimbeer proud, allowed our under-appreciated sparkplug, Gabriel (Big Gabby) to head home at the far post.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arsenal 1 \u2013 Crystal Palace 0.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

After the precedent set by the VAR debacle at St. James\u2019 Park (you know, that two hands pushing into Big Gabby\u2019s neck is not<\/strong> enough of a foul to rule out a goal), imagine my consternation as the stalwarts of competition integrity in Stokely Park contrived to take several minutes to review a manifestly good goal. I went to kitchen to make myself toast and a coffee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ten minutes later (I kid, I kid), being unable to find a reason to deny, again, a manifestly good goal<\/strong>, the scoreline was affirmed\u2026and we celebrated again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Palace roused a bit, and solid play from the serviceable Eze forced the Arsenal backline to pass the ball a bit too much in our final third for my liking. From one of these episodes, Saliba (cooler than the underside of the pillow) Cruyff-turned in our penalty area and passed to Raya who, despite not much pressure, \u201ccleared\u201d the ball straight to the opposition. Raya\u2019s mistake created one of Palace\u2019s only threats of the game as Lerma forced Raya into a good save at his near post. Arsenal increased their intensity, pushed Palace back, and won another corner\u2026this time from the right. Saka dutifully provided the floated cross to the far post, and picks from Trossard (big credit to the wee lad for going in amongst the \u201ctrees\u201d) and White again freed Big Gabby at the far post to nod home off the back of Henderson\u2019s noggin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Again, VAR contrived to give the supporters at the ground a chance to join the queue for a pint (and give yours truly time to fix a delicious breakfast sammich of bacon, egg and cheese on brioche), but could find no rationale to rule out the goal. As a Parthian shot, however, the Dubious Goals Committee acted swiftly to award the score as an own-goal. Notwithstanding this slight, Gabriel was immense on this day. His intelligence, his physical presence and his competitive fire sparked us to life. It\u2019s up to us to keep that fire going in the second half of this season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

HT: Arsenal 2 \u2013 Crystal Palace 0.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the second half kicked off, my feelings mirrored those I saw on Arsenal X, nee Twitter. The two goals were great, just what the doctor ordered, but our attack was still sputtering. Our three forwards, although active, hadn\u2019t put the ball in the back of the net. We needed Saka and Jesus to get going. This time, Raya, making amends for his errant first-half clearance, claimed a speculative cross from Hughes and set Jesus free with an excellent toss. Jesus exploded down the right and played an inch-perfect \u201csquared-ball\u201d to an onrushing Trossard. Trossard, having acres of space in the middle of the park, sat Clyne down and fired the ball into the stranded Henderson\u2019s net. What a finish! An open-play goal, the likes of which we hadn\u2019t seen in weeks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arsenal 3 \u2013 Crystal Palace 0.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The third goal really knocked the stuffing out of the Eagles and provided an opportunity for several substitutions (speaking of stuffing, did you know that Benjamin Franklin advocated the turkey as the U.S. National Bird\u2026not the Bald Eagle?) After a knock, Big Gabby was replaced by Kiwior. ESR came on for Havertz; Nketiah spelled Jesus; Martinelli replaced Trossard; and, most worryingly, Jorginho subbed on for Rice who, evidently, complained of hamstring tightness (at the time of writing, there was no further update on Rice\u2019s injury status). Now, to be clear, these substitutions did not all occur contemporaneously. Indeed, Smith-Rowe\u2019s most dangerous contribution took place from a slightly overhit Jesus pass. Smith-Rowe was unable to control the pass for a shot, but he made a solid thirty-minute cameo and a case for more playing time. Kiwior did Kiwior-things, and Jorginho and Nketiah both made solid contributions (more on this anon).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

More interestingly, and disregarding the sample size of one, I wonder if Arteta chose this match to experiment with bringing Martinelli off the bench to run at tired legs. Trossard was subbed off in the sixty-ninth minute, and Martinelli\u2019s pace immediately brought Arsenal\u2019s offensive engine roaring to life. Midway through stoppage time, Eze lost the ball on the Palace attacking left, Nketiah drove at the stuttering Palace backline, and played an exquisite through-ball to Martinelli. The medium-sized Gabby accelerated into the box, opened his hips, and, channeling the great Henry himself, passed the ball around the hapless Henderson into the far corner of the net. Cue celebratory limbs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arsenal 4 \u2013 Crystal Palace 0.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Palace vainly looked to the heavens for a savior (Jesus, however, was already safely ensconced on our bench) and Roy fumbled in his coat pockets for another piece of hard candy, Jorginho enabled the coup de gr\u00e2ce. Just a minute or so after the goal, Saliba collected a Henderson clearance and passed the ball off to Jorginho who clipped it over the weary Palace back four into Martinelli\u2019s path. The lad had his Ferrari engine purring as he reprised his initial strike with another Henry-esque bending finish. Bravo!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

FT Arsenal 5 \u2013 Crystal Palace 0.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The final whistle mercifully came. The Palace fans unfurled several banners decrying Yank ownership and a lack of shared vision. I can empathize, but I did feel for Roy who cut a lonely figure on the touchline staring forlornly at those expressions of opprobrium. However, I am not a Palace supporter, and this, thankfully, is not a Palace blog\u2026so, take that you Eaglets!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conclusion.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We needed this performance and these three points. I can hardly believe I need to say this, but we\u2019ve only four losses. We\u2019re only two points off the top spot, and there are so many games left to play. With any luck, this victory will be the octane-booster we need to get the forwards scoring again. I was intrigued to see Saka switching to the left several times during this match. Perhaps that can give the offense a different look? Maybe Trossard and Reiss-Nelson can provide the left-side opening act that sets the table for Martinelli to give us thirty-five or forty minutes of hell-for leather attack? Maybe Smith-Rowe or a returning Vieira can help preserve \u00d8degaard\u2019s cutting edge? If we get a few returns from the injury table and put together a good run of wins, who knows what could happen?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you start us up\u2026(maybe) we\u2019ll never stop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MCMBD.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I got my first car as a college sophomore. It was the missing piece in my freedom puzzle. A 1988 black, Plymouth Reliant K-Car sedan with red, leather interior; that car shuttled me around north Florida and up and down the U.S. east coast during most of the 1990s. It ran great but, occasionally, the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[6],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9093"}],"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\/22"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9093"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9093\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9097,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9093\/revisions\/9097"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9093"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9093"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9093"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}