Arsenal’s only 2 positives from Crystal Palace defeat

Admittedly, right now, it’s very hard to look at the situation that unfolded for Arsenal at Selhurst Park – as well as events before the match and the aftermath – and not panic.

Panicking won’t solve anything though, and will only cease to exacerbate the issue.

Laying it all out on the table, Monday and Tuesday could probably have gone better. Firstly the loss of Kieran Tierney to a season-ending injury dealt a significant blow to hopes of finishing in the top four, with Nuno Tavares’ worrying performance highlighting that, before further updates merely added to the woes.

Thomas Partey looks set to miss the visit of Brighton at the least as the club wait for further news on his thigh problem, while the calf issues that have plagued Takehiro Tomiyasu and kept him out of the team since January are refusing to dissipate.

Arsenal’s only 2 positives from horrendous 3-0 defeat to Crystal Palace in the Premier League

Not due back in full training until after the Southampton game, his chances of involvement after that remain doubtful with Chelsea away and Manchester United at home the games that follow.

Oh and, how could we forget, that Arsenal also lost this game 3-0 while Spurs boosted their own goal difference by four. All in all, about as much of a disaster as imaginable.

So what was positive about the game?

The shining light in this dark encounter was the trio off the bench. Unquestionably. The first of those was Gabriel Martinelli who immediately raised the technical level in attack and injected some risk-factor into the game. He wasn’t afraid to try and force the issue, whether that be taking his man on outside or coming infield to link with Alexandre Lacazette, and that energy was key in the second half improvement.

Eddie Nketiah was second to come on, and the fear is that these days it’s uncertain which version of him will turn up. Someone that it’s no secret is on the way out, his cameos off the bench have been hit and miss – Aston Villa stuck out as an unacceptable showing.

This was much improved. Trying to find a reason why he was so engaged could be linked to the reports of the Eagles wanting to sign him on a free contract and him therefore seeing the game as an audition, but whatever the motivation he contributed some drive and energy to the game.

He tried, which is more that can be said on some occasions, and were it not for a lick of paint and more composure from Martin Odegaard he could have got himself a goal and an assist.

Perhaps most reassuring of all was the introduction of Sambi Lokonga. The Belgian brought personality and presence to the pitch. Having not kicked a ball in the Premier League since January, he offered a bright and fearless spark into a difficult situation to be thrust into both in terms of game state and his lack of minutes.

Willing to challenge Palace’s players on and off the ball, look for the forward pass and get stuck into the tackles, he offered a timely reminder of his qualities.

There is a caveat to that, given that at this stage of the game Palace had dropped deep and weren’t imposing themselves as aggressively in Arsenal’s territory therefore Sambi wasn’t faced with the same danger that his teammates had to contend with in the first half. But it should be seen as an encouraging cameo from a player mostly forgotten about this season.

In among the tall Selhurst Park grass there was one more positive to take.

Continued on next page…

The Support for Mikel Arteta & Him Not Being to Blame

Could the manager have moved Xhaka into more of a double pivot role sooner to supplement Partey being overrun? Perhaps. But other than that Arteta didn’t do anything especially wrong, which in games where you lose this heavily is rarely the case.

The team selection is one that most would have agreed on, as while Martinelli may feel hard done by to miss out, the introduction of Nuno Tavares at left-back required a different profile of forward in front, especially if he was to get up and down the touchline as desired.

Equally, he had to bring him off at half-time. As big of a decision as it was for Nuno’s sake, it had to happen and putting Xhaka in at left-back to add another attacking player on the left was the wise call.

The timing of the Nketiah substitute was also unarguable, as there was no reason not to go 3-1-madness at this stage of the game, and were it not for some refined finishing they would have paid off.

But the support he and the team received is important. There have been some toxic nights at this ground – and against this opposition – before, yet even at the final whistle the away end was signing his name as loudly as they could. There is an understanding of the process now and as horrendous as the defeat was the supporters could see the bigger picture: this was one defeat in a sea of positive results from a team and manager who have their full backing.

Arteta spoke about unity in difficult times and while he has to handle that from the players’ side, there is no doubting that the supporters are holding up their end of the bargain.