It is a victory which will reassure, a little, the supporters of the Gunners, worried about the disintegration of the collective game of their favorites in recent weeks. But by crushing Crystal Palace (5-0), Arsenal was full of goals, points and confidence, with its second victory, only, since December 5, after a series of three defeats in a row, in Premier League, which had ejected it from the first place occupied at Christmas.
The match: 5-0
It’s a somewhat French victory, since it was obtained from set pieces, for which Mikel Arteta’s French assistant, Nicolas Jover, has been responsible for several seasons. The superiority of the Gunners, long quite ordinary in the game, came, first, from two offensive corners which showed the weight of the former Lille player Gabriel, rising higher than all (11th) before provoking the csc from goalkeeper Dean Henderson (37th).
Like most doubting teams, Arsenal needed to lead quite widely to play a little better, and if the collective fluidity remains any, commensurate with Odegaard’s poor form, if Saka is a little less efficient at the moment and Gabriel Jesus still in need of goals, the bill came up quite easily in the last half hour. The third goal came from another set piece, but defensive this time, Trossard finishing the action clearly on the other side (59th), after a quick restart from David Raya.
Victims of the ineffectiveness of their attackers for a month and a half, the Gunners widened the gap in added time thanks to a double from Gabriel Martinelli (90th+4, 90th+5), on two similar actions which will make him well, since he had only scored three goals in the Premier League since the start of the season.
Roy Hodgson pushed out?
This big victory, which brings Arsenal back to third place, will hurt Crystal Palace, and in particular its venerable manager Roy Hodgson who, at 76, risks being pushed into retirement in the face of popular pressure.
Even if the banners of Crystal Palace fans at the Emirates were primarily aimed at the club’s management accused of making bad decisions and wasting Palace’s potential, ousting Hodgson may be the easiest move to calm the supporters of the south London club.
