Arsenal came into Saturday night’s clash knowing they could put the pressure on Chelsea and Liverpool heading into a big Sunday of football.
Manchester City had lost yet again a few hours earlier and the thought of an evening under the lights against Crystal Palace probably won’t have given the Gunners too much hope.
However, despite a first-half scare in the opening 20 minutes, they came through the clash with relative ease once all was said and done.
As the full-time whistle blew in south London, Mikel Arteta’s men had given their supporters the finest Christmas gift, winning 5-1.
Gabriel Jesus was Palace’s nemesis again. Just days before the Brazilian had scored a remarkable hat-trick against Oliver Glasner’s side in the Carabao Cup, and on this occasion, he scored two more goals.
It was a terrific performance from the attacker who all of a sudden now looks like a key cog in the Arsenal attack.
However, although there were encouraging performances from the likes of Kai Havertz in midfield and Gabriel Martinelli on the wings, it was a 5-1 win in which some negatives did crop up. The biggest of which was an injury to Bukayo Saka.
Arteta given big injury worry after Arsenal’s 5-1 win
Saka has played a whole heap of football over the last few years and the need to find some added competition on the Englishman’s right-hand side has been well-documented.
Raheem Sterling did arrive on a loan deal back on transfer deadline day but Arteta hasn’t really trusted him.
Understandably, the club have been reliant on the young forward again this term and he has been the biggest source of creativity in the Arsenal side, registering the highest number of assists (10) in the entire division.
So, to see him hobble from the field rather gingerly in the first half will have been a gutting sight for everyone associated with Arsenal.
“We are pretty worried about Saka’s injury He grabbed his hamstring and couldn’t continue. He will have to be assessed but we are pretty worried, yes.” – Arteta on Saka.
Saka dribbled down the right-hand side and delivered a cross but immediately went down holding his hamstring and called to be replaced. He couldn’t carry on and left the field, replaced by Leandro Trossard.
Arteta said at full-time that the player’s injury was a “worry” and that was made abundantly clear when he was videoed leaving the stadium on crutches.
Fortunately for the Gunners, they were helped big time by Martinelli’s performance on the right wing who showed extreme quality to tee up Arsenal’s third goal, scored by Havertz after Jesus’ header rebounded off the post.
The performance of Arteta’s two Brazilians in attack will no doubt have been a source of comfort for the manager but it was a 5-1 thrashing where there wasn’t just the negative of Saka’s injury.
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Arsenal’s underperformers against Crystal Palace
One of the strangest performances on Saturday evening came from William Saliba, so often regarded as one of the finest central defenders in European football.
He was not at the races this time around and was fortunate to be bailed out by a combination of the Arsenal attack and goalkeeper David Raya.
Saliba was perhaps at fault for Ismaila Sarr’s equaliser as the Frenchman dropped off and didn’t attempt to make a tackle. The end result was an easy run and finish for the Eagles winger who was only too happy to drive at a backtracking centre half.
Arsenal’s number 2 nearly made things worse a little later on when Sarr dispossessed him close to the Gunners’ penalty box. Really, Glasner’s side should have found the net but for a brilliant save by Raya. After picking up possession, Sarr fed Jean-Philippe Mateta but Raya raced out to stop a goal-bound effort.
The performance of Arsenal’s midfield, chiefly Thomas Partey also raised question marks. The Ghanaian has largely been very consistent in the middle of the park this term but alongside the more attack-minded Martin Odegaard and Havertz, was overrun and looked out of sorts.
It looked as though the experiment of playing Havertz as a midfielder had ended but it was brought back this weekend and from an offensive point of view, it really worked a treat.
Playing as a left-sided 8, the German gave the team more attacking threat and showed as much for his goal on the night.
That said, with Declan Rice not starting due to fitness, he now simply has to start on Boxing Day against Ipswich Town.
He’s far more mobile than Partey, can eat up more ground and would be far better suited to covering off spaces when Arteta plays two more attacking midfielders in front of the holding player.
Minutes played
90
Touches
66
Accurate passes
51/55 (93%)
Key passes
1
Crosses
0
Accurate long balls
3/3
Successful dribbles
1/3
Ground duels won
2/6
Aerial duels won
1/3
Possession lost
7x
Fouls
2
Interceptions
3
Tackles
1
Partey struggled because of that, winning just three of his nine duels and making two fouls. While the former Atletico star did look composed in possession, succeeding with 93% of his passes, his ability to control the tempo of the game was lacking.
That was highlighted by the Standard’s Simon Collings who awarded the player a 5/10 match rating and stated that he ‘struggled’ and ‘did not give the defence enough protection’.
As a result, if Arteta wants to find a way to squeeze Havertz and Jesus into the same team again, it is Rice who needs to play at the base of the midfield, not Partey.
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