Inhaaaaaaale… breath out… inhaaaaaale… CuuuuuuuKAAAAAAW… CuuuuuuKAAAAAW… channel that inner eagle you powerful beast. š¦
Quite simply put, if you are not preparing mentally for this game to the sweet shrieks of eagles, can you call yourself elite?
Categorically, no.
Here is a video so you can prep.
Barclays Premier League Day is here. In a few hours, Arsenal will roll out for a season opener against Crystal Palace.
Patrick Vieira is no mug when it comes to coaching. He’s aged down the Palace squad, he’s brought some Wengerball to the Selhurst Park Turf, and he wants to kick on this season after making some shrewd summer signings. Paddy signs street footballers that entertain, he moves on those fancy Youtube comps we all like, Palace are going to be trouble this season.
… that said, word has it their preseason was a bit of a disaster because they went to Aus and loads of their players were anti-vaxxers. They only took TEN senior players there. So who knows, maybe we’ll be more fit, you can hide anti-vaxxers in the US no problem.
Last time we went to Palace, it was after an international break that Partey and Tierney went to, they promptly picked up injuries during the break and during the game and we were beaten quite badly in the first half. I’m not sure we deserved to lose over the 90, but we did, so there we are.
What is different this time?
Well, we’re still missing both our first-team fullbacks, but this time, we have much more capable back-ups. Ben White will slip in for Tomiyasu, he’s been really impressive there so far, but Zaha is a different ball game. At left back, we’ve got ELITE cover in Zinchenko. A player that knows the league, can play the system better than Tierney, and is more than ready to stake a claim.
Midfield will be Xhaka and Partey, same as last time, except one didn’t go out partey-ing after a World Cup qualification. Cut it however you like, those two together have a great connection, and they’ve been very impressive this preseason. They are extremely brave and I do think the more advanced Xhaka is starting to pay dividends. He’s contributing to the assist tally, he won’t be there all season, but he’s less exposed in more advanced positions, and he’s adding a bit of boldness to his passing. I think we all forget that you are never too old to improve at your craft.
Odegaard will captain and drop in as a #10.
The frontline we’re going with tonight will be very different. Saka will occupy the right, Martinelli will take up the left, and Gabriel Jesus will be playing through the middle.
I cannot tell you how different life is going to be this season. Even if we have a bad game tonight, what you won’t see is a freeze in the frontline. Finally, we have the specificity in every position we need.
We have 5 defenders who can play through a press and pick out Hollywood passes. We mostly had that last season, but if you don’t have runners, what’s the point in having longball specialists.
There’s more chaos in our forward line this season. Gabriel Jesus is a nightmare, he comes deep and he’s problematic, he goes wide and he’s a nightmare, he’s standing still and he can create something, in the box he’s ahead of everyone, this guy has changed the game. Last time we played Palace, we had Lacazette who lacked power, speed, and ability in front of goal.
The biggest shift we have tonight is winnertivity. Two players can make a huge difference on nights like tonight. Zinchenko and Jesus have done it consistently at the highest level. They understand patience, they know how to dig deep, and their experience will inspire the young kids around them.
Johnny made a great point on the Before the Whistle. I’d much rather Palace in the heat of August than on December 27th in the freezing rain.
Ideally, we don’t go a goal down this evening, I’d rather not test our abysmal record of clawing back, but I am less worried about that part of our make-up than I was last season.
Last season was the worst start imaginable, COVID and late business nearly killed this project before it started, this August is the chance to put some points on the board and make amends.
11 points from the next 5 games would be very, very good. 7 points from the next 3 would put us top 4 before the international break. That is where we need to be. I believe we can do it.
Before I leave.
I’m very excited about this season, as fans, we’ve been through a lot. Finally, it feels like there’s a bit of structure at Arsenal, a boatload of ambition, and we seem to have the right people driving the vision.
This season, we have to learn a few lessons from what happened last year:
There will be downs and they will feel very painful.
There will be long runs that will feel like we’re title contenders.
Key is not to get too carried away with the bad or the good times. We’ll be up there at the end of the season, then it’s a roll of the dice who has enough to kick it over the line.
Also… just remember that every team will have down moments.
It is easy to be there for the good times, but as you’ve seen from that documentary, our fanbase is most important to the players when we’re there for the bad times.
The journey is always better than the destination. Enjoy the feeling of being underdogs. Eat up those predictions tables that have us behind Spurs this season. Take names and numbers of the people that doubted The Arsenal.
Right, that’s me done.
We will be ON THE WHISTLE at 10pm BRITISH time this evening.
SUBSCRIBE to the Youtube so you get the notifications, or just tune in below.
Dissenter
Ben white wonāt have much tougher games this season Iāll tell you. I canāt sand zaha but heās a fucking nightmare at Selhurst
Izzo, any team we beat and u will say they shyt. Palace smashed us last season and did so to many other good teams. cmon mate, support the fucking boys.
well…. I’ll take it. it did feel very good to have zinchenko in that line up
Told Pedro tat Saliba was generational, three seasons ago
Said he was the best center back at Arsenal last season, Nigel will bear that out.
Hope we get him to sign that extension before the World Cup.
Great result., not many teams are going to go there and win 2-0.. . Poor performance , er I donāt think so,, Defended well and kept a clean sheet.. for those of you not happy.., tough
Strange performance. Very nervy at time’s. Saliba very good
Farmer’s league Saliba is the big story after this game.
Bergkamp
Ignore izzo
He doesnāt know what heās looking at
Saliba absolutely fantastic who knew am I right. But honestly that was about as typical an Arteta performance as you’ll see lots of early possession a fluke goal and then absolutely backs to the wall stuff. You’ll take it first game of the season but it’s a familiar pattern imo
Agree Un, and Ben did well against him considering it’s not his favoured position. Some guys just don’t get it.
Palace are very physical. They basically pegged us in our half. Really hoping we get Gakpo. A dribbler who can also shoot from outside of the box. His height and physicality can also help against physical teams like Palace.
Most of us gulped when we saw the fixture list published. We’ve overcome a massive banana skin and all our new players did really well. Ramsdale back to human wall mode. Onwards we march gunners
Saliba T-1000..fucking cold!
Same player was left behind the likes of Mustafi, Sokratis, Kolasinac (at CB), Chambers (at CB) in the EL. Hopefully a lesson learned as he was fantastic today.
Diss
Yu did say that but considering how good Saliba is now after such first team exposure over the last 3 years, do you not feel Arteta did the right thing? We have a monster and heās still only 21
Itās frightening. Levels above Gabriel beside him
Forgot to add Mari as well LOL
Ben White better hope he can nail down that right back spot because big Willy Saliba looked good there tonight, really strong and composed. GET HIM SIGNED UP
Guarantee Palace will finish mid table at best. I know what i’m talking about. They will find it hard to score goals. Zaha will get his customary pens and easy goals against the promoted sides. I like Viera but he should’ve kept Gallagher. He has no one to replicate him. Olise maybe but not really.
Dserved for Saliba
All those days in the U-23s wasting away
Great character lad
Hope we complete that signing very quickly
Un
Agreed-no moaning allowed. This was always going to be a tough fixture and I would have reluctantly lived with a 1-1 draw.
Saliba will justifiably get a lot of attention after his first competitive Premier League fixture but White should also get credit for at least partly containing Zaha. I’m guessing Saliba will extend his contract with us now he’s got a taste of the atmosphere in the Premier League and the quality around him. Make no doubt-the longer he remains unsigned, the more the likes of PSG will try to destabilize him.
Regardless, I’ll happily take no more new signings as long as we can get our two starboys to extend with us.
Boom! 3 points, 2 goals, clean sheet. Excellent start. Onwards and upwards
Saliba looks monstrous. He genuinely looked as good as any top CB I have seen in a while. He was the difference today.
We were very poor though, especially in the 2nd half. Odegaard needed to be subbed off much earlier. I am glad we got the points. Opening day is all about getting the points to start off in a right foot.
Saliba would have become as good if he had stayed at Arsenal and played all the games he did for OM but here. And we’d be 50m richer.
Well raptora, the loan did him well. Don’t think he would have been this good if he stayed.
A 2-0 EPL win away from home is always a nice win.
And the good thing is we should expect to improve on that overall performance in the coming matches as that was first up and maybe some rustiness and the games look pretty favourable maybe Leicester could be a little tester who knows.
With a more discerning eye though that overall performance tonight was no different really to so many other away matches we have had in the EPL for so many seasons now against teams like Crystal Palace. Followed the same sort of pattern and some games it falls for us and we win but in others we fall and go down or victory is not there.
Jesus is going to cause more problems to opposing defences no doubts about that so that is a plus.
This game didn;t indicate that we are the new re-incarnate of the Harlem Globetrotters but very good start result wise. 2-0.
Yea Marko. Typical Arteta. Goes to one of the toughest statiums in UK and wins 2 nil. Fucking awful.
Just imagine if we had gone with Zaha instead of Pepe. Saka and Zaha on opposite flanks-damn…
I’m unhappy with our game plan and lack of idea how to turn the game back to normality when they pushed us and we had no clue how to deal with the midfield, mainly because Odegaard was basically not playing.
I’m very happy with the first 25 mins though. We were flying!
Arteta though has some work to do. We never seem to maintain a good level of performance through out a game. It has been happening since he came in. Even games we won convincingly, there are 30 minutes where we are very poor. We need to start to maintain a high level if we are ever going to go anywhere.
Un
Do I think Arteta made the right decision?
It doesn’t matter so long as he signs an extension
Arteta was in his first year of coaching when Saliba first came and the club left him a harem of central defenders
Funny Saliba on fantasy football is a bottom 4.5.
Does Tomiyasu get his spot back?
Rap, step away from the keyboard. You’ve exhausted yours facts limitš
Look guys, the players were knackered cos they gave their all and arteta wasn’t making subs. Things will get better and 2 nil away at Palace is a damn good result on the first day.
Izzo
Palace had no say in keeping Gallagher š
Heās Chelseaās player.
Concerns tonight were White playing RB doesn’t look convincing there especially defensively giving the ball away in bad areas and Zinchenko having a few defensive lapses in the second half.
That’s about it.
Rest of the team were solid enough without being massive stand out.
Great to see Zinchenko being so heavily involved in that setpiece goal
Kegunner,
So is White but funny that also Lisandro Martinez lol. They paid 52m.
Saliba is what you call a RR central defender
That one was for Pedro
Now you see what generational talent looks like
Kudos to Raul Sanllehi,…you heard that right
Thatās some 20/20 hindsight from raptora. A year ago he would have probably cost us a few goals, as players that age do, and people would have turned on him. That loan was the best thing that could have happened to him.
Massive result for the boys. 100% expected Palace to be in our faces and rough us, which they did. We knew the dynamic football was coming and we had an answer to it. Ben White was massive against a ret hot Zaha and Saliba take a bow son. Lastly, this Anderson chap, never heard of him but my word heās a baller. Will be keeping an eye on him this season
I think if Viera or ESR were available, Odegaard would have been subbed off much earlier. He started slowly last season as well. And he underperforms in this type of games. He needs to get better and lead because the likes of ESR will take his place if he doesn’t.
White is in trouble too. Tomi is taking his spot. And Saliba based on today hasn’t come in to play around. He has come in to take his place. Unless he displaces Gabriel then the important matches will be Saliba at the back.
Fantastic game, happy to have won it in the end. Did Eze outperform Ordegard? We can’t sustain the tempo at which we start our matches and it’s understandable hence why Arteta must sub timely. Ordegard can’t perform against opponents who affords him no time on the ball, he also doesn’t pressurise his opponents with the aim of winning the ball but just to cover space. Zincheko and white won’t always play against Ayew and Zaha but they got exposed pretty bad tonight. Salibaaaaaaaaa though, very cool headed, superb player
Could’ve killed the game in the first 25 minutes but we let them back in. Jesus seems isolated upfront at times and our press is half-hearted as always letting Andersen going long easily.
Ćde is unconvincing in his performance pretty much a passenger instead of the heartbeat of the team. Saliba vital to our defense calm and collected only let that one through ball to Eze which luckily not converted.
Diss
Youāre right
It doesnāt
Not any more
What matters is we have the best young cb in the world in my eyes
We were defensively solid bar the odd scare from Gabriel and we lost our intensity in the final 3rd
Once ESR and vieira are fit that will change. We can be g those two on with Eddie and really turn the screw
āConcerns tonight were White playing RB doesnāt look convincing there especially defensively giving the ball away in bad areas and Zinchenko having a few defensive lapses in the second half.ā
U need to consider that Zaha is one of the best wingers in the league no doubt, White did really well IMO. Prefer him there over Tomi, who is no slouch as well
Raps unhappyā¦ā¦ thereās a surprise
Zinchenko was sooo lively but holy fk in the last 20+ mins we got away with his errors. I love him but it didn’t look good to get done time and again by effin Jordan Ayew.
Odegaard poor. Captain material? Can’t cut it when the going is tough. Always hides in tough games. Tierney should’ve been Captain.
Habesha
I can see Saliba moving across and taking the lcb role of Gabriel doesnāt pick it up
He seems to actually move away from crosses
Habesha
No player is in trouble
Competition is good for the squad
Raptora
“Saliba would have become as good if he had stayed at Arsenal and played all the games he did for OM but here. And weād be 50m richer.”
Amen brother.
People forget that Saliba has come along away since losing both parents. Clearly his head wasn’t right. But still One nob in particular on here was calling him out because he didn’t like is attitude.
One word:
Saliba
MuppetmanAugust 5, 2022 22:08:12
Raps unhappyā¦ā¦ thereās a surprise
šš»
Well noticed muppetman.
Lets hope the gaffer saw what was blindingly obvious to everybody, Odegaard is not strong enough to play againt physical PL teams
un
“I can see Saliba moving across and taking the lcb role of Gabriel doesnāt pick it up
He seems to actually move away from crosses’
It’s open season so why shouldn’t you join in to jab at Gabriel
So happy to see Saliba finally playing. Dude just casually puts in Man of the Match performances. Nicolas Jover showing his ingenuity again with a nice set piece routine.
saliba motm
Saliba is a beast, imagine if we had him last season… I’m sure the last couple of seasons on loan has improved him but he would have still been our best CB 2 years ago if he stayed. No, that’s not hindsight talking. Good to have him back and hope he signs a new contract soon.
Can’t really judge too much playing wise on the first game of the season, they’re always chaotic and players are rusty. We were a lot better prepared this time around though and Selhurst isn’t an easy ground to play at. Last time we played Palace we lost 3-0 so don’t see how anyone can be unhappy about today result.
Was it a perfect performance? No. Can we work on improving some things? Yes. But overall a very good result and that was the toughest of our first 5 games or so. Should start to get some players back from injury soon too.
Refreshing the team with new players was one of the major areas Wenger showed ineptitude at
How do you go through one simmer window without signing an outfield player in 2015
That was a total disrespect for his players and the fans. Players and fans need new blood to reinvigorate their vigor and excitement.
Steve
“U need to consider that Zaha is one of the best wingers in the league no doubt, White did really well IMO. Prefer him there over Tomi, who is no slouch as well”
Don’t agree.
It wasn’t so much that he wasn’t up to it physically with Zaha it was some of his decision making.
He won a ball well in the second half but then went on some blind run and lost the ball in a dangerous place and he also gave the ball away with a bad pass on a second occasion again in a dangerous area.
Not convincing to me.
Diss
He dived in and gave palace a shot on goal
Handles the ball from a high bounce and was very lucky it wasnāt given considering he keeps his eye on the ball and leaves his hands out the whole time
And then miskicks a clearance against our post
All this in 61 mins
Come onā¦..
Dissenter
You were the first and surely most emphatic about Saliba, way back.
Scouts obviously agreed with you because look at the price we paid for a kid his age.
I said this week I wouldn’t be harsh even if he made mistakes.
I’d say he was man of the match for sure. Looked like a flawless performance.
He’d better extend because I want to say I love him sooner rather than later.
Sending him out to do a post match interview is good way to make him feel involved and valued. I thought that was smart.
What is Pedro wearing in his podcast?
Man looks like a marooned missionary
I think the situation with Zinchenko apart from being technically very good and an asset offensively is that although he can anticipate and nip in to win balls he can struggle against obvious physical opponents at times that being big pace, strength or both.
He has got good anticipation though when he nips in before a player and takes the ball. Just pace and strength from opponents can see him look vulnerable.
Ayo! 3 points and a clean sheet fuck yeah boi.
Watched the game over here in Barcelona, palatic drunk as a skunk.
Love it. Saliba ā¤
Habesha,
Ćdegaard should have come off sooner, also Jesus was exhausted and walking a lot so Eddie should’ve got 20-25 minutes considering everyone’s fitness is not built up to normal level.
Eddie looked really bright when he came on, and I liked the choice of Sambi for Ćde.. just would’ve done it sooner. Remember Ćdegaard has a habit of fouling in and around our box when trying to help defend. Would be worse with tired legs.
Dissenter
“How do you go through one summer window without signing an outfield player in 2015”
And still finish runners up …genius
If the plan is for Lokonga to be a number 8, subbing for Ode
Then we have to absolutely buy a central defender
pIERRE
And still finish runners up ā¦genius”
The season that was there for the taking?
Ode and Xhaka as a combination are not a strong enough . We need more athleticism in there.
Seems like the usual boo boys have their favourite targets lined up.
Xhaka-was fine but it was a dumb yellow. Guess what? He still played decently and didn’t pick up a 2nd yellow. Isn’t that progress?!
Odegaard: Not his best game but he worked hard and showed some nice touches. Needs to be more instinctive and shoot when he has a decent chance but overall he wasn’t dreadful.
White: He’s playing out of position and played for a decent amount of time on a yellow. He doesn’t hide and I’m thrilled we have 3 very good CBs (one of whom might soon be world-class) along with a dependable back-up in Rob Holding. We’ll need all of them in this very long season ahead.
Enjoy the wins!!!!
“Iād say he was man of the match for sure. Looked like a flawless performance.”
A very composed performance but for me Anderson was man of the match with the number of pin point 50 yard balls he hit to the palace wide players…
A very good win for the campaign. Selhurst-3 points.
White did well I thought. Solid game from him vs one of the toughest players to face.
After Motm Saliba..
I’d say special mention for White in a very tough assignment… good job.
Gabriel Magalhaes was solid as usual. There’s a couple here on his case often, but he’s always active and tough.
Martinelli and Jesus looked really sharp and started very well.
The rest of the team, average performance. I wanted Sambi on earlier for Xhaka because of the yellow, but Granit defended well all the way to the end, including in our box.
I’d say we need to keep in mind that our likely top sub choices were all missing.
ESR (as usual)
Tomiyasu with White on a yellow would’ve been nice.
Vieira for when Ćdegaard is that exhausted.
Glad Tierney could take part. He’s a better defender than he gets credit for.
Good subs, but a little late. Jesus needs to be managed, he’s not used to loads of minutes at his workrate.
This stuff about players being in trouble is pretty crap .
Itās one match and a win not a humiliating loss.
Any player with a concern is run through the slow moās.
They have opportunities to learn. Both fullbacks had issues from raking crosses and a top , top winger away from home.
If White has a mare against a run of the mill offensive player then start demanding his demotion, otherwise accept no one is actually 100% on it all the time.
William Saliba’s Premier League debut for Arsenal:
100% take-ons completed
100% aerial duels won
94% pass accuracy
49 passes
7 ball recoveries
6 passes into final third
6 clearances
3 duels won
0x dribbled past
0 goals conceded
0 fouls committed
Pierre I would like you to post Anderson’s stats so we can compare and maybe educate us on how he should be man of the match after conceding two goals all because you liked him pinging balls to Zaha. Anderson was good but Saliba was clearly better in all aspects
When last did an Arsenal defender have zero fouls conceded against Zahas Palace?
Bacary,
Great summary. I like that Ćde took his first shot with his right, then really messed up later when he should’ve poked or smashed it with his right.
He lost the ball right in front of the 6 yard box, trying to switch it to his left to shoot. Poor decision there.
@Pierre Saliba is MoM. Andersen has those long balls in his locker so nothing to see there. We allowed him to do it all game. Most teams won’t allow him that opportunity.
Odegaard has his uses but this was the wrong type of game to start him in. I’m not sold on him as captain tbh but in less physical games he should start.
Sauce
Those stats are even better than I thought.
“And still finish runners up ā¦genius”
Hilarious.
This statement is the equivalence of thumping the ball into the top corner of your own goal from 35 yards and then running away celebrating like you scored against the opposition.
āļø Oleksandr Zinchenko: MotM – Crystal Palace 0-2 @Arsenal
š Key passes – 2
š °ļø Assists – 1
š¹ Shots – 1
šŖ Tackles – 5
š§ Interceptions – 3
āļø Clearances – 1
š”ļø Rating – 8.10
š Not a bad start to life for Arsenal!
#CRYARS
Zinchenko had the best whoscored rating, quite interestingly
Zinchenko had 5 tackles, 3 interceptions and 1 clearance. That doesn’t seem dodgy defensively to me, fatigue played a part in maintaining intensity and it’s never easy against a physical palace side but I like the fact that we can go to palace away and get 3 points with a clean sheet.
Nigel Tufnel
April 2, 2022 03:28:21
“IDGAF if i never see him play for my Arsenal. Iām already sick of the noise around him. I donāt even care if we sell him and take a small loss.Everyone who plays for Arsenal in the next few yearsā¦. will really want to play for Arsenal. Saliba can go do oneā¦. in France or wherever.”
Oh dear! !!!
Dissenter
Yeah fair enough. Lots of games.
Un
Still with the Gabriel criticisms? He did okay today despite having two new players either side of him.
Nigel
Eddie was really good when he came on. He pressed well, he recovered the ball a couple of times and he was useful in that second goal. Good cameo.
Odegaard was invisible though. He was jogging around. It was the same last season though. As soon as games start coming he gets better. And these aren’t the sort of games he plays well in so far in his Arsenal career. When we have to break down a low block though, he will be fantastic.
First day back from holiday & that cheered me up no end. Nobody went to Palace and won by more than one goal last season, that is a fantastic result. The way we dug in and fought for those points was so impressive. Jesus was unplayable in that first half, could have been three up.
Nigel
The guy was composed all through in a game where Ramsdale, White and especially Gabriel had shaky moments. Palace away is a tough test for any player let alone a debut yet he came out with MOTM performance. That’s quality to me and a good way to start the season all we need is to tie him down especially when Ā£80M is being quoted by Leicester for an inferior player in Fofona
Agree Sauce – thought Ramsdale, White, and Gabriel looked shaky. Ramsdale’s miss-hit pass really changed the dynamic and Palace started to get a foothold after that. White lost the ball on 2 occasions needlessly that led to palace having chances. We have to iron those out. I could honestly see White hitting the bench when Tomi returns and honestly our interest in Lisandro Martinez definitely shows Mikel is aware that our LCB options could be improved.
Yeah palace away will be a banana skin for a lot of teams. I am glad we came away with the win. And that was our most difficult game from the first 5 matches.
What worried me though is not sustaining a good level when we were on the back foot. It had shades of last season like away to Newcastle. We just couldn’t play our game in the 2nd half. But I am hoping the 5 sub rule will help a lot. And then we can play our game again when we need to do.
No one mentioned Ramsdale saving those two chances either. Love the guy. He can genuinely be a top keeper.
Dissenter,
I think Sambi for Ćdegaard is mainly because 2nd and 3rd choices were both unavailable, Fabio and ESR. I’m glad Lokonga is still around and was a good choice for that sub, especially defensively. I want to see more of him this season.. (mostly at 8).
Ben White made 8 successful tackles against Crystal Palace, the most by an Arsenal player in a single Premeir League away game since the 2016/17 season at least.
He’s going to sleep well tonight. š®āšØ
Un, I had to register for coming out due to loving your comment on Gabriel. I am not in love with his abilities at all, , migth think he is more of a liability than the leader of our defence. In my books he leaves next summer for a big fee and Saliba the already great takes his place (next to White, who I value more than Gabriel)
Habesha
Heās gone from sol Campbell, our defensive leader to get did ok. The 2 new players either side were superior. He needs to cut out the mistakes or heās gonna cost games and get dropped. Itās the only real negative observation I can make.
Shoot Odegaard shoot! Oh ffs. Do you reckon we could pay him to shoot, oh wait we do.
Otherwise, that first 35 minutes was incredible
Pedro sporting some absolutely mindbending clothes
Le Sauce
White did a great job on Zaha. Really tough opponent who goes both ways, has pace & can mug anyone off. No PL player draws more bookings. You need composure to play against that little whining cry baby & itās not easy. Everyone did their job otherwise weād have lost. Team game.
How anyone can say our first goal was a fluke ?
These are the wins we want to see, not be at our best but still come out 2-0 winners. We will play well in games and we should expect to win those but former point we have improved on.
Up The Arse
Saliba had a great game no doubt , but in all honesty Andersen was better….he was the main reason that Arsenal were kept on the back foot for the last hour of the game.
It was only when Eddie came on that Andersen was nullified, for me jesus, Odegaard and Martinelli failed to do their job by letting Andersen have so much time on the ball …Arteta must take the blame as well by allowing it to happen.
Fortunately palace didn’t take advantage of Andersen’s superb passing .
I wonder what Rich would have to say about our defenders getting caught with the ball over the top so often through playing such a high line, especially as he can’t blame mari/holding.
Allowing a fantastic passer of a ball like Andersen to pick his pass a couple of times is fair enough, but Arteta allowed it to happen 12 times in the game without any reaction from him on the touchline.
Pierre we won ffs just enjoy the moment
Saliba motm superb Zinchenko very good and Jesus excellent 1st half.
Three debuts all very good, can’t see anyone think anything but they simply improve the team
We sat back ttoo much for me invited pressure Palace turned the screw but bottom line three points first game of the season is the most important thing.
Chelsea dropping almost 70 million all in on cucarella. wow. They seem so desperate
Pierre: “Saliba had a great game no doubt , but in all honesty Andersen was betterā¦.”
I don’t understand you Pierre
Pierre is not wrong in his criticism of Arteta not shutting Andersen down at all though.
Pierre – nobody in the entire Arsenal hemisphere is stressing that a good Palace player had a good game at home. Itās pretty obvious you never go to live matches , never have been understood that a team can be beaten despite having mom or at least good performances. You donāt get players holding their all sometimes desperately, you donāt get the sudden swing back of play . You donāt get that Vieira through every last chip he had and Arteta held until he void and then swung the change.
Basically you donāt get anything after your duopoly of Wenger and Ozil
Pedro already posted he was going to dress in honour of Nigeria being the third biggest traffic source for the site. For once, he should get a pass.
Agree with others about Anderson had a very good game for Palace but his passing range and balls over the top we should of been pressing on him. Reason we didn’t we simply dropped too deep as a whole team after 30mins.
Odegaard struggled big time and really passed up a golden chance to make the game safe.
I still hope we bring at least one more midfielder in.
Yea, I too was disappointed that Arteta didn’t make any adjustments to shutting down Anderson’s passing to Zaha
That was their only outlet and we just ;et it continue.
Pierre
We could of put more pressure on Anderson, but I donāt know what game you were watching, because we dealt with the ball over the top really well.
Other than Ezeās chance that he should of put away, and the header in the first half that didnāt really trouble Ramsdale
Palace in spite of their possession, created nothing else that troubled us.
It was a game of fine margins, thankfully we pushed the margins in our favour
Loved the corner for Martinelliās goal, it was really well worked.
Rich
Lets not pretend that the game was not in the balance for a good chunk of 45-50 minutes.
First game of the season, we will get better but we left enough room for Palace to do damage.
Not to beat a dead horse but the reason some of us were so bullish about Bissouma was for a game like this.
Dropping Chaka and playing YB next to Partey and itās game over and good night early. We labored unnecessary because we are not athletic in the middle of the park
We dealt with the long balls well. For all the possession we let them have in certain areas of the pitch, they never hurt us. Itās not easy to win away, especially at Palace.
Itās weird people are unhappy. It proves itās not about Arsenal for them, itās only ever about them. Shit fans and trolls dominate this comment section.
No Pierre Anderson was not better he just did a lot of long passes
He conceded 2
White was excellent so was saliba the back 4 infect where great and 2 top saves from ramsdale
Say we are top of the league
lol and that’s why folks you should never take whoscored ratings or any stats ratings by heart.
Zinchenko was badly exposed twice in the second half and was a bit weak with a challenge in the first half.
That’s why he was taken off second half. Looking defensively vulnerable. Of course may have to do with needing more minutes under his belt but the question regarding Zinchenko defensively has been asked before. It’s nothing new.
Like him overall but may be problems defensively with him at times.
Him being so heavily involved in the setpiece goal though can counter that but there were still be question marks about the defensive stuff down the line.
Mr Serge
I think Pierre is just trying to note that Anderson had a great t game too
He can’t be man of the match because he’s on the losing side
He showed his quality, no lie there.
AFC Superfan calling LeGrove posters shit fans. There’s nothing new under the sunā¦ is there?
Who’s unhappy here, after we beat a very good team away, on opening day.
Weirdly manufacturing drama to fulfill the grandiose option that you’re the better fan, as usual.
rap
You beat me to it.
Blog was roundly united and positive, until big schlong fan strolls in; see my wang is bigger than yours.
Always about his pompous ass.
Diss
What more do you want?
Iāve acknowledged it was a game of fine margins, and we managed to just push the margins in our favour.
We didnāt create much, Martinelli should have done better early on, he needs to put that away.
We scored off a really nicely worked corner, and then got lucky with a breakaway goal with a deflection, the only other chance we had was when Jesus put Odegaard through, and he certainly should have got his shot away.
Palace in spite of their possession late in the first half, and throughout the second, only created 1 excellent chance, and 1 half chance with the header in the first half.
Zaha + Ayew were lively, but thatās not surprising, Zaha is one of the best 1 v 1 attackers in the league, heās an excellent player, but overall both teams were restricted to very little opportunities.
The main difference being Martinelli put his header in, and Eze really should have done much better one on one with Ramsdale.
Agree with Pierre, Anderson was not closed down
On too many occasions. We got away wish it.
Great win but lots to work on
Everyone has said they are very happy with the win.
But with the superfans there can be no nuance at all. No areas where you can state things may need improving. No views on players that may have not have played well as others.
It’s got to be shangri-la.
raptora
āSuperfanā
No mate just a normal Arsenal fan who enjoys winning.
You are shit fans mate. Fact. All you do is dig players or the manager out win, lose or draw. Seriously, you think thatās how to behave when the team you āclaimā to support gets a fantastic away win? Think about it.
Afc forever
It’s not trolling to say that Arsenal shouldn’t allowed the same player to hit 12 passes over the top of our high defensive line.
Surely if a team is playing a high line they don’t give the opposition’s best passer so much time on the ball…suicidal , but we got away with it this time.
It led to us giving away free kicks in dangerous areas, leading to at least one clear cut chance that was well saved by Ramsdale.
Childish understanding as usual. Of course on the day of a nice away victory, where we usually struggle against Palace ultras…
…….Someone crying for Bissouma…. Again.
It never ends.
We don’t play that way, and if we did, we’ve got Elneny who has even filled in at CB.
You’d have us bring on 5 CBs and 2 keepers with that mentality. What do you even see when you watch football games?
Can you please try listening to tactical podcasts or something?
Rich
I don’t disagree that we largely controlled the game against. very good side that plays very well at home. A team that outplayed us for 180 minutes last season.
It’s the first game and we expect that we will get better.
That’s the spirit of the closing down comments. it’s about how we get better.
Ben White was placed under so much pressure in the second half because Anderson get making those diagonal passes to Zaha to set up one-on-ones.
I mentioned against the grain of popular comments here during the game that Ben White was having a great game considering it was Zaha that was matched against him.
I t could be that our fitness isn’t at 100% yet so we stopped pressing after the first 35 mins.
Surely at some point, there should have been tactic al change/tweak to stop the isolation of Ben White.
In my opinion, Zaha is an obstacle to the progress of Palace. He might be a good dribbler but he slows down the game for Palace, makes the wrong decision most of the time and looks for the foul rather than what’s more effective.
Markymark
“.Pierre. Itās pretty obvious you never go to live matches , never have been understood that a team can be beaten despite having mom or at least good performances. You donāt get players holding their all sometimes desperately, you donāt get the sudden swing back of play . You donāt get that Vieira through every last chip he had and Arteta held until he void and then swung the change”
If i could understand a word you said i might be able to respond , i think you win tonight’s award for talking boll.
And who said fluke goal?
On a designed play from a corner?
Oxymoronic.
Talking bollocks
azed
Until Olise returns, Palace need Zaha healthy to stand a chance of winning games.
.
PierreAugust 5, 2022 23:54:20
Markymark
ā.Pierre. Itās pretty obvious you never go to live matches , never have been understood that a team can be beaten despite having mom or at least good performances. You donāt get players holding their all sometimes desperately, you donāt get the sudden swing back of play . You donāt get that Vieira through every last chip he had and Arteta held until he void and then swung the changeāIf i could understand a word you said i might be able to respond , i think you win tonightās award for talking boll
Lol super funny
Palace are very very strong at home the fact that we had a clean sheet and all 3 debutants had great games is fantastic
I just want saliba to sign da ting now before we all start getting anxious
We beat one of our bogey teams. As good as it gets!
Mikel Arteta has won 50 league matches with Arsenal after 98 games in charge, making him the second-quickest manager to reach 50 top-flight wins for the Gunners, after Arsene Wenger.
I’m loving Salibas play for us so far….
If he signs to stay at Arsenal, he’ll be my favorite player and I’ll be posting heart emojis. I’m still on record for that…
I’ve said for a while now… I’m gonna do a giant hypocritical 180 ..shamefully..if he commits.
If he doesn’t, he’s a dick and I’m not gonna blame Arsenal either. He can fuck off to PSG.
Until that moment, he’s gonna get a fair shake from me on performances, and I’m not looking to amplify any mistakes that may come. My motm today.
Keep playing great, and commit to the future with Arsenal, William.
If you’re a loser poster who looks to go back months for quotes, I can’t help you make a better life, I’m sorry.
I stand by everything I say, and also I’ll feel free to change my mind, and I’ll admit it when I do.
On opening matchday… you were looking for comments back in April to use, to score a point.
Nice life you got there.. get a cat or something.
If Willy Saliba sings Im getting his name on my jersey
Tweet….daily cannon
Palace fouls 11. Cards 0
Arsenal fouls 6. Cards 2
So as it was, it shall forever be.
White definitely earned his yellow but if Xhaka’s is a yellow than Palace needed 2 more yellows as well. FFS
Nigel
One rule for Xhaka, and another rule for everyone else.
Canāt complain about White + Xhakaās yellows, but certainly some double standards on display.
I thought the refereeing was pretty fair overall to be honest. …Anthony Taylor can be a decent referee. Also, those stats are wrong.. Palace got a yellow card.
Another referee gives Palace 2 pks for handball.
Yeah Midwest now I think I remember they got a yellow!
That makes a difference to me, not as lopsided.
Xhakas was deserved because I hate diving, but I feel like nobody else gets called for that since Suarez left England.
I mean I’ll call referees out if I think they are biased.. but I can see why Taylor made the decisions he did.. I thought Eze was diving as well for them.. not to mention Zaha easily goes down…. but Xhaka kind of forced him to make that yellow card call because he was beyond the last defender when he took a dive. Anyhow.. overall like I said …. Ive seen worse especially on the road.
Well before the game I said the following wishes
3 points by hook or crook
A Jesus goal to maintain preseason form
Saliba to start 90 mins and a clean sheet
2.5 out of three is more than enough. Jesus didnāt score but was still good. Everything else came true
Itās now well over 300 minutes of football for Saliba without him knowing what it feels like to concede a goal at this club. Long may that continue.
3 massive points! Not a peak Arsenal performance but I think some are under appreciating how massive this away win can be for the season. Realistically, the momentum from this game can lead us to 10-12 points out of the next 4 games. It gives the organization and players the belief that the preseason results are more truth than fiction.
Look there will be lots of valid comments about how to improve but before the game would any of us have taken that? I 100% would. I think the opening game for us has a little extra significance because 1) we tanked the start last season and 2) weāve had such a good preseason that to drop points wouldāve generated a lot of noise, āsame old arsenal being soft when it countsā or whatever. We already had a lot of pundits talking shit about us these last few days.
3 points and a clean sheet. Savor it. The pundits can go suck a nut
Massive win lads. Hardest game until United, and itās harder to go to Palace than Old Trafford.
I AM ELATED!
Middy, felt like we got away with some bad handball moments!
This blog is very pleasant when we do well!