Arsenal Vs Crystal Palace: Putting right the wrongs

Arsenal travel to Crystal Palace on Thursday night as they enter the midst of their festive fixtures. It’s time for Arsene Wenger and his players to right their recent wrongs.

It’s been a rough few weeks for Arsenal. After trawling through a November that usually undermines them with an impressive North London win and a tricky trip to Turf Moor that yielded more points, the Gunners have toiled their way through December, losing to Manchester United and dropping points against Southampton, West Ham United and Liverpool.

Catch the latest episode of the Pain in the Arsenal podcast here

After Friday night’s draw with Liverpool, the Gunners slipped into sixth position, behind Tottenham Hotspur on goal difference. Perhaps the more concerning matter is the five points to Chelsea and the eight points to Manchester United, two direct rivals in the top-four race.

More from Pain in the Arsenal

• 3 standout players from 1-0 victory over Everton
• 3 positives & negatives from Goodison Park victory
• Arsenal vs PSV preview: Prediction, team news & lineups
• 3 talking points from Arsenal’s victory at Goodison Park
• Mikel Arteta provides Gabriel Martinelli injury update after Everton win

Arsene Wenger welcomes Chelsea to the Emirates in just over a week’s time. It is a game that he must find a way to win if he harbours any hopes of keeping pace with the London rivals. A loss would yield an eight-point gap. That may be too much to overcome over the latter half of the season. Suddenly, if true, that leaves just two remaining top-four positions, one of which will likely be taken by United. That leaves one. Three teams are fighting for it.

So that is why Thursday night’s trip to Crystal Palace is so important. Palace are enjoying a resurgence of sorts. Under Roy Hodgson, they are unbeaten in their last eight games, including wins against Leicester City and Watford. They have been especially strong at home as well, with three wins and three draws in their last six Premier League games at Selhurst Park, including a surprise victory against Chelsea.

Palace are not the pushovers that they were to start the season. Hodgson has turned them around. This is far from a guaranteed win for Arsenal. But given their recent dropped points, this is a game that they must win.

If they want to keep pace with Spurs and Liverpool, which is what they need to do to establish themselves as top-four challengers, then they cannot afford to drop more points against lesser sides. Spurs and Liverpool play Southampton at home and Swansea at home respectively. It is difficult to see them failing to win those games. In fact, I write this piece with Spurs 2-0 up against Southampton.

Next: Arsenal: Mid-Season player rankings

The pressure, then, is being thrust onto Wenger and his players. Nothing less than a win will do. It’s time to right the wrongs of recent weeks.