3 positives & negatives as Premier League title charge continues

Positive #2: Bukayo Saka

Saka has, at times, looked as though the hectic season was finally starting to take a toll on him as fatigue appeared to be creeping into his game. But, as he always seems to do, he showcased once again why so many Arsenal fans adore him.

Time and Time again, he takes the game by the scruff of the neck and his two goals and an assist against the Eagles take his respective tallies to 12 and ten in the league. He is nothing short of remarkable and is arguably the most likeable player in the country at this time.

His finishing, which was once one of the weakest aspects of Saka’s game, has improved massively and he now paints an incredibly composed figure when faced with goalscoring opportunities. At just 21 years of age, it’s so exciting to think just how good he can be as he matures even more as a player.

Negative #2: Conceding too many chances

Our defence has been porous of late, and that was the case again in this game. Against a side that have struggled for goals in recent weeks, it was worrying to see Aaron Ramsdale called into action as often as he was. Wilfried Zaha hit the post in the first half and also saw an effort whistle just wide of the post in the second. If either of those chances had been converted, the end result may have been altered.

Thankfully, it wasn’t, but our leakiness at the back does need to be addressed. In our last five fixtures in all competitions, we have conceded six goals and kept just one clean sheet – for a club with aspirations of clinching a Premier League title, that simply isn’t good enough.

The xG Philosophy stated after the match that while Arsenal had an expected goals figure of 1.50, Palace were not far behind with a respective figure of 0.92; suggesting that on another day, the chances we conceded may have caused us to potentially drop points.

Continued on the next slide…