Crystal Palace v Arsenal: the match preview.

Posted on by Tony Attwood

By Bulldog Drummond

And so the FA Cup (won by Arsenal for the last two seasons and tipped by Untold – although probably no one else – to do it for a third successive season) has started with matches including the likes of Leicester Nirvana, Coventry Sphinx, Jarrow Roofing Bolden CA, and West Allotment Celtic.

Meanwhile we have news of Chuba Akpom scoring: Chuba scores.  We rarely post videos here, but that one is worth watching.

The general feeling from last weekend was that Cech was having a nervous first day out, against a State Aid team that was all fired up and ready to roll after playing in and getting knocked out of the Europa.  So he made an error for the first goal, it played on his mind and he made a bigger error for the second goal.

There is even the admission among the slightly more literate members of the press that with Alexis Sanchez back there will be the extra width that is needed.  Play Alexis one side the Theo the other with Giroud in the middle, and you have a good balance.

Mr Wenger made an interesting comment about last weekend saying, “If you want to say our aggression level against West Ham was not big enough, then I would agree with you. It’s maybe linked with the fact we were too confident and that we thought we would win the game anyway.”

Never mind there are always the old favourites: the transfers.   The Telegraph might be trying to back track for it has ‘Krychowiak Arsenal move in doubt due to injury’ which I suppose is better than saying, “we made it all up in the first place”.    But the Metro says, “Midfield deal imminent, dream striker close, top playmaker clear to sign”.

On the injury front the news is much the same as before: Welbeck, Rosicky and Wilshere.  Jack is supposedly making a very quick recovery, Welbeck a puzzlingly slow one, and Rosicky’s knee injury keeps him out til November.

On the other hand Alexis Sánchez has plugged himself into the mains and is now supercharged and ready to roll. Mr W called him “hyperactive”.

“I am a bit worried but I knew before the start that once he is here, he would be difficult to stop. So I gave him a long enough break. He had four weeks off, which is quite reasonable.

“In March, April, May you could see he was a bit jaded. But he is still a guy who can be decisive in a game. Once he is out there he gives 100%. This season, he knows what is expected from him and he will do better than last year.”

Palace have injuries to Chamakh, Speroni, Appiah, and Campbell.

Our team today could be any number of possibilities, depending on where you see the problem was last weekend.   So I’ve done the unthinkable and dropped Ramsey and the Ox.  Undoubtedly not what is going to happen, but I think this team looks rather smart.

OoooooooooooCech

Monreal Koscielny Mertesacker Debuchy

Cazorla Coquelin

Alexis, Özil,  Theo

Giroud

This leaves out Ramsey and the Ox.   Fighting it out on the beach will be some of Ospina, Debuchy, Gibbs, Chambers, Gabriel, Areta, Flamini, and either Oxlade-Chamberlain

The last time that Crystal Palace beat Arsenal in the league at Selhurst Park was 1979, and we had a stat like that against State Aid Utd and lost.   Here’s how it looked in the last three…

  • Crystal Palace 1 (Murray) Arsenal 2 (Cazorla, Giroud), Premier League, February 2015
  • Arsenal 2 (Koscielny, Ramsey) Crystal Palace 1 (Hangeland), Premier League, August 2014
  • Arsenal 2 (Oxlade-Chamberlain 2) Crystal Palace 0, Premier League, February 2014

In fact we have won our last five against them, and scored at least two in each of those games and it is 12 games since they beat up. But the similar sorts of records were true against State Aid United.

Palace have just won their last three games in the League and we are undefeated in our last six away PL games.

Speaking of the game Alan Pardew said, “Arsenal’s manager has enough experience to use that negative [against West Ham] last weekend as a positive this weekend. It’s difficult to stop them but we need to play our game. Generally, our performance at Norwich was below our best.

“We want more control in games this year. We want to wrestle control from Arsenal. Our strength is as a counter-attacking side. Unfortunately that won’t be enough against some teams, we need to be more than that.”

And Mr W replied, “Every defeat makes you a bit smaller, but it is our job to take it in perspective with 37 games to go.  We have a big following and disappointed people are emotional, that is understandable and it hurts us as well to disappoint people who have a high level of expectation.

“We have analysed what happened to us, but we don’t have to go overboard with what happened. It is a defeat and it hurts, but that shouldn’t take away our belief in our potential.”

Crystal Palace have never won their opening two matches in the top division.  And rather amazingly Alan Pardew has equalled the most number of wins by a Crystal Palace boss in the Premier League (11) even though he has only been in charge for 19 games.

But also Palace have lost half of their 10 home games under Pardew (W4, D1, L5).

Now I must admit I picked that snippet up on the BBC website, and it all seems a bit odd to me, but maybe that is just how it is.

Anyway, here’s a nice positive to finish with:

Arsenal have won 42 points in 2015, a joint-league high with Chelsea.   Let’s build on that.

Two anniversaries from the olden days…

16 August 1925: Arsenal FC finally bought Highbury Stadium – which until that point had been leased.  It meant that Sir Henry Norris was no longer under an obligation to return the ground to its previous state at the end of the lease.

16 August 1927: First reported use of numbers on players backs, over a year before Arsenal tried it out.  Arsenal worked hard to popularise numbering, but didn’t invent it.

 

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73 Replies to “Crystal Palace v Arsenal: the match preview.”

  1. A couple of points, BD.
    To forecast a win in the FA Cup for ANY team is a very dodgy business. So much depends on the draw.
    Was Cech really at fault for the second goal v West Ham? He seemed to me to be unsighted. 😉

  2. Just stick to the simple stuff and we should nick the points. Keeping the defensive shape is crucial. No place for Mr. Gung ho ! Come on you Gunners , the season starts here. Up the Gunners !

  3. Both our games last season against Palace were very close run, and I would expect this to be no different. They have a good team , well coached and with probably the best support in the South.
    Peter Cech will be tested, and if he gets through this one with no errors then I’m sure he’ll be set for the rest of the season.

  4. With due respect BD I think both Ramsey and Ox could be there on the beach. Either Arteta/Flamini or Chambers/Gabriel could be there. Are both Ramsey and the Ox fit to be there?

  5. Think this one could be a bumpy ride, the odd aerial bombardment, quite a bit of bus parking, testing the referee if Palace have done their homework, time wasting should circumstances permit, but I am going for us to get back on track in a 2-1 nervy win

  6. I greet every one at the Untold, the Boss, the Gunners, the Gooners that includes myself, a happy Sunday to us all in Jesus Christ Name. Amen! Every football game has it’s own Complexion and the Game Data Locking and the Unlocking App Keys. This Crystal Palace vs Arsenal this afternoon kick-off time match is no exemption. The home team – Palace have the Game Data App Locking Key to lock the game and stops Arsenal from winning it. And Arsenal’s (Boss) the away team, have the Game Data App Unlocking Key to unlock Alan Pardew’s Game Data Plan App Lock. The quality of the Gunners & the Eagles and their styles of playing will determine the complexion of the game. And the tactics that are being employed by both Alan Pardew and the Boss is the Game Data Plan App Keys. In this regard, the class of the quality of the Gunners is far ahead of that of the Eagles. While the Gunners have done their Masters and are in their Doctorate as they have won many titles repeatedly. The Eagles are still battling with their undergraduates degrees. I would have thought. This leaves us with the Game Data Plan App Key which is the tactics of Pardew and that of the Boss for this game. Alan Pardew’s Game Data App Plan Key is known as: Undone The Gunners. And the Boss’ Game Data App Plan Unlocking Key is: Recovery From Slow Start. Which the Boss & his Gunners will use to unlock the Alan Pardew’s Game Data App Plan Lock and infest it with devastating precise high precision attack football that will render Alan Pardew’s Game Data App Plan Lock into obsolete state during the entire course of the game. Alan Pardew’s Eagles will park the Bus and counter attack with their 2 wingers and also unleash aerial ball into the Gunners’ box in open-play, free-kicks, corner-kicks and throw-ins. Therefore, the Gunners must collectively prepared to deal with those 5 major Eagles threats. My starts: Cech. DebuchyRhino’KoscielnyGibbs. CoquelinCazorla. OxladeOzilSanchez. Walcott. My bench: Ospina RamseyDeAberuGiroudMonrealArtetaBellerin. These my starts and bench supersedes my earlier starts & bench on the Untold and JustArsenal websites.

  7. I suspect there are quite a few not quite as confident as they were at this point last week heading into the West Ham game. The result I think depends on the attitude of the Arsenal team – which we never really know about until kick off.

    After last week I would shake things up a little, resting a few players.
    Cech, Cazorla, Ramsey, Giroud, Debuchy, Koscielny on the bench.

    I would like to see :

    Ospina

    Bellerin
    Gabriel
    Mertesacker
    Gibbs

    Coquelin
    Arteta
    Flamini
    Ozil
    Chamberlain

    Walcott

    Play defensively, concede possession and hit Palace on the break. 3 points is vital, not the performance.

  8. Who ever plays, all is needed is to want to win. That’s it. The will to win the match. I wonder if our back 4 are going to be just a little more nervous today? The anti-Arsenal would love to keep us at exactly the position we are now, so be aware of the officials. 🙂

    We do need to start seeing that EVERY team poses the exact same threat as a Manc, a Manu or a Chel$ and is to be treated that way on the pitch, no more big and little teams, the division between them is shrinking some more.

    COYG.

  10. Good job Bulldog!

    I was actually thinking the same thing in regards to the Ox and Ramsey last game. I kept thinking watching the game last week, that those 2 could not work together last week no matter how hard they try, so would not be surprised to see one of them benched.

    @Walter & Tony,
    OT: Looks like our wish of officials in the EPL admitting mistakes has come true, but unfortunately the only mistake Howard Webb can remember making is not giving Suarez a penalty against Arsenal in the FA Cup during his last season! Just thinking about the PGMOB pisses me off.

    http://sportzwiki.com/football/howard-webb-admits-he-gave-wrong-decision-against-liverpool-and-liverpool-fans-react-on-twitter

  11. @Bulldog,
    Very close lineup, Ramsey instead of Walcott for the match.

    Cech
    Bellerin – Koscielny- Mertesacker- Monreal
    Coquelin – Cazorla
    Ramsey – Ozil – Sanchez
    Giroud

  12. 1-0 to Bulldog for the line up.

    Interesting game on TV at the moment – Wolverhampton v Hull. Includes Martinez, Akpom, Hayden, plus for old times sake Afobe.

  13. Didnt knew JAYram is a AAA.

    Proposing a team without Kosienly Sanchez and Santi Cazorla.

    Wonder why he is still allowed to post.

    AAA troll.

  18. Martinez started in goal for Wolves, Hayden and Akpom started for Hull. Hayden was subbed off at 56 minutes. No mention in the one commentary as to why Hayden was subbed, but his name is hardly mentioned in play before that.

    And I was just about to ask for Giroud to open the scoring, and I see that he has.

    COYG!

  21. Oh drat. Come on Alexis, get on the score sheet as well.

    SMeagles?

    COYG!

    —

    Akpom played the 90, name in the commentary a lot, in a 1-1 tie.

  23. I think Mason bottled it in not awarding a second yellow to Coq. Wonder if Arsene will sub him now.
    Did someone suggest that Palace would “park the bus”. They’re actually giving us a match.

  24. Flamini for Coquelin at 60 minutes or so? Sounds like he could have got a second yellow just before Palace got their yellow.

    Is Alexis 100% yet?

    COYG!

  25. So frustrating. Team came out to play and have looked sharp but missed chances have cost us. We should be 4 goals up.
    Pretty hacked off with Cech’s effort to get down to that shot also. Fell on his stomach instead of diving and stretching.

  26. What’s with all this “COYGs”
    You do realise it’s stolen from Spurs. It’s the one thing they got right so let them keep it

  28. It sounds like you have more writing to do. I see Come On You Gunners, and Come On You Gills (Gillingham FC). I don’t see any spud association (spudassociation).

    COYG!

  29. One other thing Mason missed was a handball by the Palace keeper early on. He was about two feet outside the area.This happens all the time when GKs make clearances and they never get called for it.

  32. BBC is mumbling about 2 mistakes Mason made just before half time. I suspect, what they mean is that Coquelin should have gotten a second yellow, and Palace shouldn’t have gotten a yellow. Daily Mail showed a picture of Coquelin on his yellow, and he doesn’t appear to believe he should be carded for it.

    I’m looking for a spudassociation, but not finding anything.

    COYG!

  33. TailGunner,

    Come on You ….. is a common rallying cry amongst footy fans of all kind. Unleds you can back up your claim, I’ll prefer you leave people with what they like to support their club with.

    I promise to stand in your corner if anyone ever forces you to write COYG.

    Having said all that: COYG!!!

  38. Well, I found 3 hits at DuckDuckGo for COYS, and I find gazillions for COYG. I suspect COYG is used more.

    I also found COYB (Blues – Everton), COYR (Red – Liverpool?), COYQ (Q = Quins?), COYI (I = Irons), COYM (M = Mauves), COYH (H = Hammers|Hatters|Hornets). Also a COYG where G = Greens.

    COYS (S = Shits, probably from Gooners?).

    And that seems to have exhausted the search. I think I need some more Arsenal goals now. 🙂

    COYG!

  41. Boo
    Spurs have been using that for at least twenty years, and I think it’s sad that Arsenal supporters have adapted it for our use. Spurs fans take the piss out of us for this

  44. All 3 of the commentaries I am following, suggest Coquelin should have been dismissed long before being subbed. So, it seems we were lucky. May the luck continue to flow.

    Alexis, let’s get a real goal to go with that OG.

    GGG!

  45. I didn’t see that substitution happening. How about Ramsey and the Ox yet today?

    GGG!

  47. Gord
    Moss was leaning over backwards not to send Coq off. We certainly were lucky with that

  57. Mandy was spot on with the score. Well at least we are up and running, that was never going to be an easy game against the Smeagles at the Nest, not even after the hysterics this week from the swamp heads.No doubt they will be moaning though…
    Onward and upward!!
    COYG!

  58. But wasn’t there a Crystal Palace player who committed a whole series of fouls and somehow managed to escape getting even one yellow card? I don’t know his name.

  62. This Coquelin debate on the sending off is ridiculous. He made 3 fouls and only one was possibly a yellow. Several Palace players had similar fouls through the game yet the commentators were not calling for yellows.

  63. TailGunner,

    Those who seek equity should come with clean hands: UTV belongs to Aston Villa as I know they’ve been using it for the past 30 years.

    See what I did there 🙂

    COYS does not predate COYG. I guess you started noticing the latter more recently but time does not start from your consciousness. Let it go.

  68. WOO HOO , HOO ! A great win for us to get the season going. Goals from OG and og !
    Up the Gunners !

  71. Buying a scoring CF? We should buy that OG guy. One chance and he burried it without hesitation 😉

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