Arsenal Vs Palace: Spluttering attack needs to ingnite

Arsenal’s attack has spluttered a little in recent weeks, scoring six goals in their past five Premier League games. Against Crystal Palace on Thursday, it needs to reignite.

Arsenal’s form has tailed off a little. Earlier in the year, once their star front three reunited and the team settled into its shape and structure, the Gunners began to play some truly scintillating football. The 5-2 win at Everton. The North London derby loss. Even the 3-1 loss to Manchester United was an excellent performance.

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The problem, though, has been consistency. Since that loss to United, Arsene Wenger has seen his side score just five goals in four Premier League games. For any team, that is below the required standard; for a team that is dependent upon its attacking potency, it is downright disastrous.

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What is more troubling is that of those five goals, three came in a blistering five-minute spell against Liverpool, a game in which Arsenal failed to create many clear-cut chances. In those games, they have had six, three, five and four shots on target. That is not all that good. Against Southampton and Liverpool, they had just 11 shots in total. Across the whole season, they have averaged 17.7 shots-per-game.

This is a team built on its attacking threat. But it’s a spluttering, stuttering attack. They are stagnating and stalling. And given that they are now in the midst of a packed festive schedule, where fixtures come flying thick and fast and points can be won, or lost, in swift succession, that is quite concerning.

The next match is on Thursday night against a resurgent Crystal Palace. Roy Hodgson has brought a steel and stability to the team, as well as a sprinkling in quality through the enigmatic, mercurial, but direct and dangerous Wilfried Zaha, and Arsenal will not find them the pushovers that they were earlier in the season.

In particular, it is the front three of Alexandre Lacazette, Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil that need to rediscover their sparkling form of earlier in the year. Of the three, Ozil has been the more influential in recent weeks, persisting as a creative, probing force in the final third.

But the movement off the ball, the clinical, clear-thinking, cut-throat nature in front of goal, the fluid, interchangeable, fizzing passing, the slick and sliding interplay, has been lacking. Ozil cannot create and score on his own; he needs help. That help, in theory, should come from Sanchez and Lacazette.

Next: Arsenal Vs Palace: Predicted starting XI

These three are the players that Wenger has invested time and money; these are the players that their success is dependent upon. They need to spark into action, starting on Thursday.