Real Football Man All of the Football, All of the time
Editor’s Note – This piece was created on NYE, there is absolutely no way I will be in a functioning state to type anything Today
Arsenal started New Years Eve in 4th place and with Tottenham playing a couple of hours earlier than them Today that is where they will start 2017. The task now is to make sure that they stay by the end of the afternoon as they play host to cross town rivals Crystal Palace.
Arsene Wenger’s side come into this game off the back of a first win in three outings. After defeats to both Everton and Manchester City the pressure was on for Arsenal to deliver all three points on Boxing Day. They may have left it late but it was finally a job well done thanks to Oliver Giroud.
His 87th minute winner broke West Brom hearts and kept Arsenal just about in the title race but more importantly still in the Top 4 with both Tottenham and Manchester United winning their respective fixtures across Week 18 of the Premier League.
West Brom played for the draw but Arsenal did struggle to break them down and there would have been a huge sigh of relief when the French international Giroud was on hand to finally break the deadlock. Had Arsenal failed to win for a third straight game then the pressure would have been ramped up further on Arsene Wenger.
But the crisis at The Emirates seems to be resolved and with the visit of Palace this afternoon they will look to put December’s woes behind them and get the New Year off to a perfect start. That said you would imagine that new Crystal Palace boss Sam Allardyce will have other ideas.
His Crystal Palace bow didn’t get off to winning ways although arguably it should have. Christian Benteke is probably still having nightmares in regards to his penalty miss at Vicarage Road on Boxing Day. The Belgian was presented was the perfect opportunity to all but wrap the game up and took one of the worst penalties of last year.
That game was the perfect example of a team not taking their chances and being punished for it. With Palace dominating the first half, Benteke by all rights should have sent his side into the break with a 2-0 lead and one that you would struggle to see overturn.
But the missed spot kick almost seemed to revive Watford and they were the better side after the break and come away with a deserved point. Although frustration for Palace there were certainly some immediate positives to take from that Boxing Day result.
For a start the way Palace were moving the ball about in the final third was very impressive, Andros Townsend took his opportunity back in the first team with both hands and his direct running added an extra impetus to The Eagles’ game which they have been sorely lacking as of late.
And like any Allardyce side the defence looked a lot more assured especially compared to an Alan Pardew era back line. That said the job is still very much a work in progress and they are going to have their work cut out if they are to keep Arsenal quiet later Today.
As usual for The Gunners the main focus will be on Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil. After an impressive blitz of goals in early December the Chilean international has drawn a blank in the last two outings while there are once again questions in regards to World Cup winner Ozil’s performances as of late.
With the weekly wage they are demanding for their new contracts, Ozil in particular has to start turning in the kind of performances that are worthy of a near £300k a week salary. Contracts continue to drag on between both parties and you get the feeling that it’s not a scenario that is going to come to a conclusion any time soon.
But with opposition in the form of Palace it does present the opportunity for both Ozil and Sanchez to show what they are all about and with these two in fine tune you would be hard pressed to find anything other than an Arsenal win. Big Sam will have to wait for that first victory since taking charge as I reckon the Gunners will stay in 4th by the end of the afternoon thanks to a home win.
