Arsenal made it six points from six with a 1-0 win against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park on Monday night.
Martin Odegaard grabbed the only goal of the game from the penalty spot and the Gunners then had to ride out considerable pressure from the Eagles after Takehiro Tomiyasu was sent off with 23 minutes remaining.
Here’s a round-up of post-match quotes you may have missed…
__
Declan Rice on how far Arsenal can go this year…
Look obviously we can’t get carried away. We’re only two games in. It’s about momentum, it’s about taking each game as it comes. Coming to places like your Palaces and winning and getting three points and building momentum. We’ve got a tough schedule coming up after September, so we’re going to be ready for it. Last year there was big pressure on Arsenal to win the Premier League. Like I said, that’s why I signed for Arsenal, because I believe in the vision. I believe in the manager, I believe in this team, how young and hungry we all are. We know Man City are the best team in the world at the minute and they’re tough to stop. But, you know, it’s a great challenge ahead. Let’s keep fighting, keep pushing and taking each game as it comes.
Source: Sky Sports post-game interview
__
View this post on Instagram
__
Mikel Arteta on Martin Odegaard taking the penalty instead of Bukayo Saka…
I had no clue, to be fair. It’s about leadership of players and if they felt it was the right thing to do, for me I’m fine. They have to make those decisions on the pitch, I was surprised like everybody else. They made that [decision], he scored the goal which is the important thing and we won the game.
Source: Post-game press conference / Hayters
__
Mikel Arteta on whether interest from Saudi clubs was the reason for benching Gabriel Magalhaes again…
Nothing at all [to do with it]. It’s about the games that we were expecting, that I was expecting, how I wanted to defend and attack and what I believed was the best thing. He’s played in both games, he helped us to win both games for different reasons. He was really good today, he absolutely dominated the box when he came on and he’s going to play a lot of games. But that’s a decision sometimes.
Source: Post-game press conference / Hayters
__
Mikel Arteta on keeping a clean sheet in difficult circumstances…
To get a clean sheet away from home with the experience, you realise how important it’s going to be. We were really solid again, we conceded very few situations to Palace, which is very difficult in this ground. They [Palace] are a really good team. You see the atmosphere from the beginning, among the night, it doesn’t get more traditional, or more English probably than this, but again delighted to win the game.
Source: Arsenal.com
__
View this post on Instagram
__
Roy Hodgson on whether Palace deserved something from the game…
It’s difficult to say. I would be tempted to say yes, certainly when they went down to 10 men we really did give it our best shot, we piled bodies into their half but of course, we’re playing against a top-quality team and they were able to defend the efforts that we had. I think the penalty was a bit of a harsh decision given the block on the player defending that position, he couldn’t get there, because he was blocked off. Maybe it was naive from our side, but that was a bit harsh on us. I’d have preferred them to have scored from open play. I can’t criticise the team’s performance, I thought they kept their end up throughout the game and we gave a good account of ourselves.
Source: BBC Sport
__
Oleksandr Zinchenko on the win…
Yes, Gooners! A very important three points, it’s great to be back, the fans were on fire today. Let’s do it again, next one. Come on!
Source: Arsenal Twitter
__
Declan Rice on the impact of substitute Jorginho…
If you looked on the pitch, everyone is driving each other. We went into a back three, and the lads didn’t stop talking, Jorgi came on and he was brilliant, he kept pushing and demanding. It’s about seeing the game out. They suck the goals in behind the goal here, and they’re a full force when they’re at it so to nullify them and not let them score tonight on their first home game of the season was a big plus.
Source: Arsenal.com
__
View this post on Instagram
Rice’s heatmap was unbelievable but we have to be careful going into the second half after the break as reheating rice is quite dangerous.
I reheat rice all the time and never have any pr…oh shit! Gotta go…
Yeah,but we’re still susceptible to counter attacks….am i the only one not comfortable with this TP right full back inversion thing? And there’s no stronger back line without Gabriel in it so if white isn’t playing let him come from the bench..especially in away games!
I guess the thinking is it compensates for Havertz’ slightly lower defensive output. But yeah, totally agree.
Feels as though it makes each one of the back four a touch weaker as they’re all out of position. Thought Gabi was immense when he came in though.
I wonder if it’s perhaps partly psychological as well- Gabi has started practically every game since joining, maybe just a little reminder he’s not irreplaceable. Don’t think Arteta would take that risk though.
Crucial three points (but aren’t they all?!) Loved the defensive resilience and spirit. You know in bygone years this was just the type of game we would lose 2 or 3-1, after going 1-0 up… So impressed with Declan Rice.
It’s a cliche maybe, but being able to win ugly is so important if you want a chance of winning the league.
Amazing that on a team full of leaders we have someone on the bench like Jorginho who can come on, make some nifty passes to help us keep the tiny bit of possession we had, and boss all the other leaders around because he’s smart as hell and has won pretty much everything. Not sure if we should forget about him that easily when considering our best midfield players…
Jorginho feels like when Arsene use to bring Gilberto on in tight games to see it out, he calms everybody around him down & keeps it simple
Some of his one touch passes out of pressure, he might make them look simple but they really aren’t
He’s one of my favourite signings in recent years. The calm, experienced professional craftsman. I love our youngsters, but .. a team needs someone like this, and he’s just jumped right into the role with such authority. I loved seeing him come on and immediately start organizing everyone (like Gabriel, holy crap he was on fire!) Jorgi’s not just there to collect his wages – he absolutely puts in a shift, every time. I think he’s woefully underrated by some.
I know he starts way less games for us but it really does make you wonder why Chelsea fans turned on him cause his not put a foot wrong since he joined & he knows his probably only gonna start Carabao, FA Cup games against lower league teams & dead rubber Champions League matchday #6’s but he hasn’t kicked up a stink & just gets on with his job when called upon
“it really does make you wonder why Chelsea fans turned on him”
I hope for you that you save yourself the agony of trying to figure out why Chelsea fans do anything.
But also who in that club is playing well? They have enormously talented footballers who are being wasted in a club with no vision or culture.
I gave up trying to figure out Chelsea long ago, now it’s best just to laugh at them. What kind of owner sees they don’t have an out & out goalscorer/experienced centre forward so spends £14m on a bloke who replaced Matt Turner in goal especially when he also signed Slonina a year ago. He does realise they can only field 1 keeper at a time yeah?
We are starting to add more strings to our bow. Declan Rice had moderately impressed me so far without knocking me down with excitement, but when we went down to 10 he just made me feel so secure. He’s used to scrapping with his back to the wall at West Ham and he took to the situation like a duck to water. Really really helped us. Similarly Jorginho, he’s like having a can opener in the house. You rarely need it, but when you do it’s absolutely crucial. He brings such a calm to proceedings and leadership. When the team… Read more »
Great comment. But I wanna know, what else is he like?
The ref however was as useful as an ashtray on a motorcycle!
Love that Jorgi got game time today and was a brilliant pace setter when he got on the ball. Love that we have the tactical options to react to situations such as todays.
I do not understand why a player like Gabriel, who played every match last season and was immense, suddenly sits on the bench so partey can play right back. We win the title last season with that defense is saliba stays healthy. Now our team is muddled. Slow. No spark. Barely beat NF and going up 1 to 0 to CP and try to time waste.
Good lord. Play white, saliba, Gabriel, and tomi or zinchenko. Partey and rice at holders and beat down teams. Or rice and havertz or whatever. This lineup can’t beat anyone good.
Suck it and accept it now. Arteta is not going to make a first 11 anymore. They’ll all play according to the plan to counter the opposition.
We’ve all seen how well Pep does it. Time to see if Arteta can.
Still can’t believe we signed Rice. Plays like prime Xavi Alonso with better ball carrying and defending, long but exciting road ahead. This team will gel and get more fluid as the season goes. We would ideally want to peak at the right time so picking maximum points at this stage is perfect.
I owe Dec an apology. My ex was West Ham so I went to a lot of games at London Stadium & I was always slagging him off cause he always seemed to just pass it sideways & point a lot but I guess he was just playing to West Ham’s lack of other equally talented players cause he does so much more then that. Slotted in brilliantly as an extra CB when those crosses were being flung in by Palace. Side note, I’ve hardly seen any praise for Wilo & *that* tackle on Ayew in recovery from his own… Read more »
I know Arteta is so obsessed with the inverted role that he is playing players out of position. I rmb Arsene wouldnt do tt. If tt one position is at risk, he wouldn’t shuffle too much as it may caused some instability. Playing our RB at LB and our best midfield at RB is bold move.
I hope with zinc coming back, we can revert back to our usual 4 of zinc, gab, saliba and white. Really hoping to see Rice – Partey partnership. Oh well Arteta is the Manager and he knows better.
This game is exactly what I expect from Howard Webb’s PGMOL.
Slightly off topic…but have you ever thought about how we’re a farm for goal keepers?
We have Martinez, Turner Leno, Fabianski, and I’m sure I’m missing someone else currently playing in EPL
Then there’s Szczesny- All making names for themselves.
Relieved to hear Gabriel ain’t leaving, top quality player who is only going to keep on improving.
Rice seems to be cooking well
This system is really interesting. I think it had to change when Granit left. He was that good. Can’t think of a direct replacement for him. One of the downsides maybe in the two games so far is that Odegaard seems much less influential to me. Maybe that’ll change now Zinchenko has to play the next game with Tomi out.
I love the new format of quotes round-up!
Love the respect shown to the opponent. Rice already showing leadership credentials. The mindset is spot on. Vamos gooners!
Was sceptical of our electric yellow zebra 2nd kit but under the night lights it looks pretty spectacular, even if Declan lost both his contact lenses he would still pick out a pass to his teammates..