Fat Sam hasn't had enough time to transform Palace into one of his typical stubborn Arsenal-frustrating pits full of quicksand that are desperately trying to avoid relegation. So we had some space and time, and that led to one moment that transcended time and space. Giroud has his detractors, but I was never one of them. He has the right attitude, he's made of iron, he plays 90 minutes of every game, and he scores goals. I don't know what else you could want. (I do have one complaint: he picks up the occasional cheap card for dissent.) Theo's speed is nice, but he doesn't produce enough on offense or defense to justify his playing ahead of Giroud. And Alexis is a better winger than he is a forward, as great as he is there. If we had two of him, I'd say leaving Giroud out was right; but we don't. The handsome Frenchman is our best forward.
You can find better recaps of the game elsewhere. Suffice it to say that Arsenal dominated just as you'd expect them to at home against a struggling team. Palace wasn't as suicidal as Watford was earlier against Spurs, or it would have been 4-0 or 5-0. The Gunners still spurned several respectable chances, which is worrying, and of course Palace had a few opportunities. On balance, though, it was almost all one way traffic. Some player-specific comments:
I am incredibly impressed with Monreal's desire. He kept a few moves going with his intelligent pressing and deft passing. He knows his limitations, and usually makes the man he's marking do something extraordinary to beat him. He never switches off.
Bellerin loves games like this where he has so much freedom to go forward. Unfortunately, his final ball is usually poor. I have to believe this is something he'll improve on.
Gabriel was strong behind Bellerin, and Benteke seemed to want to face up against him. The Brazilian handled it well.
Kos is always great, isn't he?
Cech had a few harmless lapses, but earned the clean sheet by knowing when to be active and when to stay on his line.
Xhakelneny worked well today. They tracked back when it was required. High marks.
Iwobi took full advantage of the opponents and made a statement today in Ozil's position. He was pretty good, and his header for the second goal was very well taken. Yes, it should have been cleared, but it beat the goalie and was a fine header. He did himself some good today.
I thought Lucas Perez had a good game. I'd like to see him start on the right wing for a run of games. He gets back on defense, too.
Alexis is an incredible player. His finishing is off recently, but he's not the sort of player you'd ever sit down. Fabulous effort, really good game. He deserved better luck.
Giroud was self-effacing in the post-game interview, putting his goal down mostly to "luck." It was anything but. The whole game, he got back to clog things up for Palace in the midfield, and participate in the defense on set pieces (he's valuable there). He wins a lot of headers when we're forced to launch the odd long ball; he just keeps competing for everything.
Subs: Ox tried very hard to make an impression and could have had a goal and an assist. He made a case for playing more often. Ramsey looked at home out there; he'll get his first goal soon. Coquelin was excellent.
The referee (Marriner?) had an easy time of it, only reaching for his cards twice (once each way), late. He blew a couple calls, letting quite a few fouls go and getting the occasional inbounds ruling the wrong way. But this was a game few refs could have made the difference in.
The top six teams are winning reliably (except for us vs Everton) lately except to each other. We can't afford any more slip-ups if we're going to be in the conversation late in the season.
No comments:
Post a Comment