Two second half goals from Alexis Sanchez fired Arsenal to victory against Crystal Palace tonight, after the first half opener from Shkodran Mustafi was matched by an Andros Townsend strike early in the second half.
Read the match report and watch the goals here.
Here’s how the players rated.
WE’VE GOT ÖZIL! MESUT ÖZIL! I JUST DON’T THINK YOU UNDERSTAAAAND. HE’S ARSÈNE WENGER’S MAN, HE’S BETTER THAN ZIDANE, WE’VE GOT MESUT ÖZILLLL
I really like Ozil but that miss from Alexis’ beautiful pass at 1-0? The likes of Theo would be slaughtered for missing it. I don’t understand why his finishing isn’t better. It’s the one thing that’s stopping Ozil being up there with the best imo.
Big win. Desperately needed. Shaky at the end but well done.
No pleasing you, is there? Ozil didn’t miss, it was a fantastic save by Speroni. Stop trying so hard to find negatives.
Give it a rest mate, he said it was a big win.
No wonder fewer people are commenting these days – some of you are so quick to jump on anything you perceive to be a critique after games. Pros don’t sit in the changing rooms feeling pleased with themselves after a win, they’re always thinking about what they can do better. Nothing wrong with fans doing the same, and doing it respectfully.
That would be fine in equal measure – but when it’s incessantly negative without balance, well.
As a pedant, very disappointing you don’t realise it can be both? It was a good save but it was one where if it was a good finish the keeper would have had zero chance.
Reasoned debate is sadly dying on here. Every comment’s reasonableness (& whether it’s balanced mpls) seems to be determined solely by whether you agree with it or not. It’s a sign of the times I guess; Arsenal reflecting the world around us.
Don’t be upset. Posting opinions as facts is done by everyone these days in this twitter-style world. Also, minuses on a post simply mean if people agree with your post or not (or even only with a part of it) – it is not a personality judgment.
I am a big Ozil fan, and think he had a very good game. But. The one you are talking about: good save, but he should have scored. The other, where he had a heavy touch (Ozil with a heavy touch!) as he burst through, was almost as bad.
Anyone negging this is a Spurs fan
AW has to fix the defensive issue, QUICK. We can’t concede too much goals anymore. SECOND, AW has to fix the finishing issue as well, we are not ruthless enough infront of goal. We do not get points for making chances that are not converted into goals.
Good 3 points though!
He should gazump Liverpoo with a £75,000,001 bid for VVD.
Upvoted for the use of the word gazump
We’ve been missing goals for years now
Love that chant. Thought Özil was uncharacteristically sloppy and wasteful in this game though. A 5 at most. A lot worse than Zidane.
Most of the rating spot on. Chambers and Bellerin´s close control on Zaha was awful. He had way too much space.
we can buy him if palace goes down?
not sure why you got thumbed down. Zaha would be a welcome squad replacement for Walcott and maybe even Welbz with his injury problems.
Who of you actually ever watched Zaha? If you’re saying he’d be good at Arsenal, well that’s insane. Welbz is much better on the ball (and that is a low bar) and has a better scoring record (another low bar). Theo Walcott has a better scoring record that Zaha. Like, way better. Walcott!! Zaha had a few good touches and cross (that should have been easily dealt with but Mustafi went missing) apart from that did exactly freaking nothing. He’s a one-trick pony and that trick ain’t even that good. Zaha took advantage of Bellerin’s crap defending and a the… Read more »
Mustafi deserved an 8 imo. Best defender tonight by far, was really impressive without even counting his goal.
Agree. I think he was really good today. Also, he seems to be a really intelligent guy. Not afraid to speak his mind. Next up I expect him to give a death stare to the next twat who asks him about Sanchez, Özil or Wilshere. Let the club handle it!
PS! Yes, I know, the club should have dealt with those deals a long time ago, but the media is still full of twats. Twats!
Twats!
Mustafi is an enigma to me. He has his good moments and then he often gets caught out of position. Palace’s 1st goal shouldn’t have happened.
And his speaking his mind – that’s interesting. I’d call it a negative. Its one thing to be a leader on the pitch (a good thing for sure), its another thing entirely to be some babbling bloke who “speaks his mind” (not usually a good thing). But I guess thats the way of the world.
Thought Jack was superb tonight. Get that contract signed.
As an England fan, Southgate can’t ignore how well he’s played tonight.
Needs to get him back in the fold if he continues to perform like that.
I’m a little ignorant here, but who exactly is Wilshere competing with for an England spot? Drinkwater’s done nothing this year, Lllana’s been hurt, Henderson/Dier are pretty useless at attacking…..
I guess they’ll go with Alli behind Kane? You’d think Wilshere would at least be on the bench for England, right?
Alli might have a problem with non-English referees in the World Cup. You know, like stomping on players.
We’ve made it difficult for ourselves. We were superb the first 45 minutes despite wasting several chances.
Wilshere is knock knock knocking on England’s door! I’m pissed if he’s not called by Southgate. He deserves a call.
i love this comment
I’m not disputing that he’s good enough for a call up to play for your national side. Another view could be that he’s been chronically injured and his career almost destroyed. His number of games needs to be planned and thought through carefully. More games at an international level expose him (and us) to potentially career ending injuries.
It’s easy to say sign a new contract because he is playing sensationally at the moment, but in two months when he’s injured again it’s going to look like a dumb move.
I still think it is more Mustafi’s fault for the 2nd goal than Koscielny’s. Mustafi allowed Tomkins to go infront of him. He didn’t mark him properly + he should follow and not left him. It is easy to out-jump someone if you are running towards the ball. Koscielny never stood a chance there.
Come on, most goals are caused by a series of (relatively small) mistakes–a defender stays too far off, so the winger gets his cross away (but that’s in part because a second defender did not provide him cover when he could have); another defender is on the wrong side of the striker, who therefore can meet the cross; the keeper does not come out quickly enough to prevent the cross from arriving.
Chambers had defend the whole right side on his own
A bit surprising that he got the nod over Holding though he did okay. I can’t imagine both of them staying at the club next season…they both need regular games to get to the next level
Good point. I was thinking along the same lines. Chambers covered A LOT of ground and acquitted himself pretty well. Not perfect, but well I’d say. He’s confident on the ball and apart from a few sloppy passes, none of which hurt, looked good. (And it isn’t like Arsenal is loaded with centerbacks at the moment). And another commenter said it; Bellerin’s thing really isn’t defending any more. Notice how Zaha was going right at him? That’s been a theme this campaign. Everyone blames the central defenders and says we need a punisher type DM; how’s about we get a… Read more »
Glorious ball from Wilshere. Can’t remember the last time we scored a goal like that.
If I remember correctly, it was Cazorla’s over the top ball to Ozil against Zagreb before leaving the pitch with the tendon injury.
Last touch was an assist.
Ozil’s assist for Walcott against Stoke a couple seasons ago comes to mind. For a team with so many pacy players we really don’t play enough of those types of balls
Belerin is playing like he doesn’t want to be there. His passing is stupid and his concentration is a joke. He is under no pressure because Arsene didnt manage the situation with Debuchy right.
The back 3 is supposed to help him defensively so yes Ozil drifts but this is where Chambers should be covering and helping.
Didn’t Ornstein report that Bellerín asked to leave for Barcelona in the summer? Quite possible he actually doesn’t want to be there. And having seen some of van Dijk’s displays for Southampton this season, it hurts us more than it helps us to hang on. But you’re right, we’ve not dealt well with the full-back situation (on both sides). We don’t really have options.
Ornstein is another faceless BBC arse, recycling groundless internet rumours – best ignored.
Actually, I want to say Ornstein is probably the most reliable.
I hate the fact that Sanchez has started scoring again right before the start of January.
I hate to even say it..but I hated to see him score today. Though I was happy the three points secured.
Wow! So.. so many fans who were having a go at Sanchez till last week..now believe he is going to stay with them for the rest of career? Since when did we lot become so delusional? He his trying to work his way out like a slimy little bitch.. for those of you.. who can’t see it!
AS7- we should just say thank you. Nobody can deny the quality he’s brought in the 140+ games he’s played for us. And he’s under no obligation to sign a new contract. He’s respectfully seen his contract through and maintained some dignity throughout the noise over the past year without any letters to fans. I don’t see how that’s being a ‘slimy little bitch’.
Why would you hate it. Who cares if he leaves and painfully if he goes to City. As long as he is in Arsenal and scores that all that should matter. As long as he plays hard and smart like today and not like some of the other games were he would be wasteful.
Right; you should not have said it. I recommend that you do not write something that silly again. You either support the club and like seeing the players – ANY PLAYER – score goals and win games or you don’t. Its quite easy.
I missed Mustafi’s response, anyone care to fill me in?
http://news.arseblog.com/2017/12/wilshere-says-contract-will-be-done-mustafi-hails-concentration/
I’m really impressed with Lacazette. He is a much better player than I thought. His hold up and interplay is excellent. Also his willingness to always look for an opportunity to shoot, is very impressive. I think he will further improve next season as he gets used to our style and the physicality of the premier league.
If he stays that is
Also, like Blogs, I think people should give Wenger credit for managing his minutes in his first season in the Prem. I’m glad Lacazette doesn’t want to go off, and I’m glad Wenger takes him off.
Wilshere is Class(world)
Bellerin’s defensive performance was very worrying. Maybe it can be explained by the new association with chambers and the lack of protection from Ozil, and he won’t play against Zaha every week. But he lost his focus during the game, was always out of position at the end, the last 10 minutes were terrible. I think he does not improve enough defensively. He also seemed to struggle physically against Zaha, maybe he spent to much energy with his offensive runs, and he played every minute in the PL so far and most of the time as a wing-back. I think… Read more »
Bellerin had several bad passes, one that gave them the counterattack leading up to 1-1. And he is not a great defender. But he was very good in attack tonight, and to me that excuses a lot.
FFS play Debuchy in the prem league if nothing else to wake Hector up.
If it’s a system fault , then I forgive Bellerin, but I’m not so sure.
Second half his covering wide was non existent and his passing out of defence was shocking.
First half, I thought he did well……..so the ” asked to play the whole right flank alone at times” doesn’t add up for me as the reason.
Completely torn over hector. On one hand a young, exciting full back who has potential to be the best in his position.
On the other, a vain, media obsessed celebrity who has let fame get in the way of personal progression and contribution to the arsenal. He has been shocking lately.
Needs competition and a new manager to set him straight. (Hopefully with us)
For the record, I love this blog and really appreciate all the work that blogs does for the gooner online community, but the excuses for Hector (used to be Ramsey) are getting beyond ridiculous: Bellerin has been poor for most of the year, but Blogs always finds a reason for thinking it’s not totally his fault, there’s some mitigating circumstance, and therefore he doesn’t deserve too harsh a rating. The sad fact is he’s either been in a year-long slump in form (best case scenario) or his development has seriously stagnated and he may never become the world class fullback… Read more »
Yeah it’s a complicated one. The wily old fox Roy Hodgson set them up to advance the ball down our flanks because he knows how narrow we are with the midfield two. Xhaka and Wilshere were bystanders with some of Palace’s attacks (when we were going forward those two were pretty good). And because Zaha was on Bellerin’s side they funnelled most of their attacks down his flank. Then instead of dropping back if they lost the ball, Palace pressed to cut off Hector’s passing lanes. We did expose him and we didn’t adjust tactically so I see where Blogs… Read more »
His inability to read a situation leads him to having to react and recover where a quality defender wouldn’t even get caught out. The amount of times he faces his opponent up then turns to watch the ball when it’s played inside and behind him is alarming. The other guy then just runs down the outside of him. The light only switches back on when the ball is then returned and he’s having to recover. After 3 years and to be stuck with that lack of awareness of basics is really disappointing. I thought he’d be one of the best… Read more »
Wilshere is Class
Wenger’s decision to deploy players in there natural positions today was refreshing – Wilshere, Chambers, substitutes – Coq and AMN too.
Hope it continues for the most of the season left.
Bellerin was RUBBISH. He deserved a 4 at best.
Ozil all you like but it was Alexis that put us back in it against Liverpuddle and it was again Alexis today coming up with the goods for those two goals for us.
It’s not a competition between them for our affections. Why make it be?
Chambers played well.
Jack showed some excellent distribution and vision particularly for that assist for Alexis.
But we never make it easy.
Lacazettes all round game is really neat and tidy…He has very good link up and hold up skills, better in some ways than Girouds as his quickness allows him to become part of the move and disrupt the defenders…His movement is exceptional. I think he is the reason why Ozil has been mostly great this season. The games when Sanchez has been on it like today he has also reaped the benefits of Lacazette upfront. Super Jack…Hes nearly there. Want him to start playing those passes for Laca in the years to come. Today i finally realised what Wenger is… Read more »
Happy for the 3pts but we certainly didn’t make it easy for ourselves. I thought Wenger did the right thing taking a forward off and bringing on Coq to help see the game out. Something I thought he should have done vs L’pool when we took the lead. However we never looked comfortable after that change and could have been punished if Palace were a better side. Which begs the question, if we put ourselves in a winning position in the 2nd half, what is the manager to do to help us safely see out the game? If he makes… Read more »
There was 30 min left in the Liverpool match when we got the lead.
Wenger did try to see the game out tonight and our team still gave up a goal in the last 15 min when he tried this today.
Do you really think we could have absorbed Liverpools constant attack for 30 min and not give up a goal?
Maybe don’t make any changes and instead instruct the team not to bomb forward, sit deep and wait to counter. You know, like what the top 6 do to us 99% of the team.
I want Alexis to stay. It probably won’t happen. Arsenal, like any team, needs brilliant players. He’s a brilliant player. On a side note, he’s also nice to dogs. But more importantly, for the future of our team, he’s a brilliant player. How do we convince him to stay?
Overall played good. The one I wanna highlight is the assistance for B24 upon he plays like a wing more.
If i were Koscielny, i would have punched bellerin in the face after the second goal..You can clearly see that Koscielny is pointing towards tomkins and asking bellerin to pick him up.. bellerin with his hands on his waist, ignored the captain, and tomkins runs unopposed and out jumped Koscielny.
We all know Bellerin was tapped up by Barcelona and you can bet his Spanish mates are still in his ear. Lets give Debuchy a go and sell Bellerin asap.
Why ? Why ? Why ? Why ? Does Wenger always sacrifice a forward in games we are controlling in order to bring on a dm to shore things up which immediately invites the opposition to push another man forward while we inevitably sit deeper and deeper inviting pressure? This ploy has bitten us on the arse more than a few times before and briefly threatened to do so again last night ! Seeing how defence is our weakest link why does he persist in relying on it to see out games ? Against teams like Palace surely just keeping… Read more »
You may be right, but you should understand that half the criticism here is the opposite: when we have the lead, Wenger should instruct the team to stay compact, play on the counter, see the game out.
I like this new darker, less smiley chambers, long may the zero shits given attitude he seems to have continue.
I thought Bellerin was terrible….he and Chambers couldnt stop anyone. Seems to lack the pace he used to have as well.
Lacazette needs toget on the ball more because makes things happen.
Ozil should have scored twice. What on earth was he thinking on the second one
Straight through on goal and he passes it???