Arsenal (2) 5 Crystal Palace (0) 0
Premier League
Emirates Stadium, Drayton Park, London N5 1BU
Saturday, 20th January 2024. Kick-off time: 12.30pm
(4-3-3) David Raya; Ben White, William Saliba, Gabriel Magalhães, Oleksandr Zinchenko; Martin Ødegaard (c), Declan Rice, Kai Havertz; Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Jesus, Leandro Trossard.
Substitutes: Aaron Ramsdale, Emile Smith-Rowe, Gabriel Martinelli, Eddie Nketiah, Jakob Kiwior, Cédric Soares, (Jorge Luiz Frello Filho) Jorginho, Reiss Nelson, Reuell Walters
Scorers: Gabriel (11 mins), Dean Henderson (37 mins o.g.), Leandro Trossard (59 mins), Gabriel Martinelli (90+4, 90+5 mins)
Arsenal Possession Percentage: 61%
Referee: Paul Tierney
Assistant Referees: Scott Ledger, Dan Robathan
Fourth Official: Andy Madley
VAR Team at Stockley Park: VAR Stuart Attwell; AVAR Steve Meredith
Attendance: 60,284
After the disaster surrounding the Christmas 2023 fixtures, we are back to Premiership action today, in a hotly contested London derby against Crystal Palace. It goes without saying that we need to get back to winning ways now, especially after the mid-season break, in which we sincerely hope that the lads return rejuvenated and inspired to start the second half of the season in fine fettle in the only way we know how, with a victory this afternoon.
The match started quickly with our chaps pushing the ball around with confidence and positivity, although as early as the third minute, Eberechi Eze managed to get the ball to Joachim Andersen whose header went wide of David Raya’s post, which was a near miss in anybody’s book. Their early attempt appeared to spark us into life, and over the next few minutes, Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz came very close to opening the scoring. However, our joy was obvious in the crowd when, on the eleventh minute, we took the lead when Declan Rice crossed the ball for Gabriel to head the ball into the bottom right corner of the net. We continued to pressurise the visitors very well, and Gabriel almost grabbed a second goal when Bukayo Saka crossed a beautiful ball from the wing, which found our man’s head perfectly, but unfortunately the ball went wide. Despite some interesting midfield play from both sides, it was us that provided the more concrete chances to score out of the two teams. Martin Ødegaard slotted the ball to Leandro Trossard, whose right-footed shot from outside the box was blocked by a defender, and despite the visitors doing their best to make a difference, it was us who had the better chances to score. Thirteen minutes from half time, we grabbed the second goal of the game when Palace goalie Dean Henderson scored a ridiculous own goal, and shortly afterwards, Oleksandr Zinchenko’s left-footed shot from the left hand side of the penalty area flew past the right hand side of the goal, and during injury time, Gabriel Jesus slotted a superb through ball to Leandro Trossard, whose left-footed shot from the centre of the penalty area went very high and wide to the left of the Palace goal.
We started the second half in the same manner that we finished the first, with lots of pressure on the visitors’ goal. Declan Rice’s right-footed shot from outside the penalty area was saved in the top left corner by Dean Henderson, following a superb pass from Bukayo Saka, and then Leandro Trossard was unlucky not to score with a strong shot from outside the penalty area, which was blocked by a Palace defender. Attempt after attempt by our players to score was met by clearances and blockages by the Palace defenders, but they could not keep us out forever. A minute before the hour, we scored our third goal when Gabriel Jesus played provider for Leandro Trossard, whose right-footed shot from the centre of the penalty area ended up in the top left-hand corner of the net. Now we were truly coasting. Have a cigar, chaps. Although to be fair, the visitors were trying to make an impact, but we managed to stifle their attempts quite easily. With twenty minutes of the match remaining, Gabriel Martinelli and Emile Smith-Rowe replaced Leandro Trossard along with Kai Havertz and the pressure continued. About five minutes later, Declan Rice looked like he picked up an injury, and to be on the safe side, he was replaced by Jorginho, and we managed to consolidate, pass the ball better and advance up the field on the hunt for yet more goals. Bukayo Saka was desperately unlucky not to score when our captain set him up perfectly to shoot for goal, and then, within the space of two minutes, both Jorginho and Martin Ødegaard’s attempts to score our fourth were stymied by the Eagles’ defenders, and with nine minutes of the game left to play, Mikel Arteta decided to make two final substiutions, Eddie Nketiah, who replaced Gabriel Jesus, and because of injury, Jakub Kiwior took the place of Gabriel with just minutes of the match to go. In the seven minutes injury time awarded, we still had time to score a couple more; firstly, we broke out of our half, and Eddie Nketiah deftly slotted the ball to Gabriel Martinelli, whose right-footed shot from the left-hand side of the penalty area ended up in the bottom right-hand corner of the net, and just a minute later, the same man grabbed our fifth goal of the day when, after another smash’n’grab movement, Jorginho passed the ball into the path of Gabriel Martinelli again, whose exquisite right-footed shot from the centre of the Palace penalty area ended up in the bottom right-hand corner of the net, to finish the match perfectly. What an afternoon for the Gunners!
A superb victory, just what the doctor ordered. Obviously, as expected, the winter break invigorated them, and they cruised to victory today against a demoralised Crystal Palace side, who to be fair, were never at the races at any point in this game. This much-needed win moves the boys up to third in the Premiership table, two points behind the leaders Liverpool but having played a game more than Jűrgen Klopp’s side, but all in all, a grand return to action for our team. Well done chaps!
Remember everyone, keep the faith, get behind the team and the manager, as this season is going to be crucial for our future success in all competitions. Stick with the winners. Our next match: Nottingham Forest at The City Ground on Tuesday, 30th January at 7.30pm (Premier League). Be there, if you can. Victoria Concordia Crescit.
She Wore A Yellow Ribbon 