Four things we learned: Crystal Palace 3-0 Arsenal
Arsenal capitulated to another terrible defeat against Crustal Palace on Monday night.
Just when we thought things couldn’t get worse, the Gunners proved everyone wrong. Crystal Palace dominated Wenger’s men from the first minute to the last and Arsenal didn’t really show any fight to the contrary. The defence was bullied, the attack was ineffective and the result was awful.
Arsenal now sit firmly in sixth and increasingly unlikely of capturing a top four spot. With that said, let’s have a look at the four things we learned from Monday night’s game.
The players ‘not fit to wear the shirt‘
“You’re not fit to wear the shirt!” was the cry from the away end at Selhurst Park as the Arsenal players whimpered to a harrowing and potentially significant 3-0 defeat to Crystal Palace.
Upon further analysis, despite very few exceptions, this statement rings true. Mohammed Elneny, Gabriel Paulista, Aaron Ramsey, Theo Walcott (who is miraculously stand-in captain), and on current evidence, Granit Xhaka, are but a few examples of players that fall way below the necessary standard to be a player for Arsenal football club. This is the worst Arsenal team that I can remember, and questions must be asked with regards to the abomination that is Arsenal’s recruitment.
My brother is a better centre-half than Mustafi
About 40 minutes into the match I received a text from my brother telling me that he is a better centre-half than Mustafi. Naturally, I found the sarcastic text from a 31-year-old part-time 5-a-side player with a dodgy knee quite humorous, but then after further contemplation, I came to the conclusion that he probably is. A lack of composure, a tendency to go to ground, and a distinct lack of knowledge of where he is on the pitch personifies entirely the concept of a headless chicken. The team’s defensive performance tonight was absolutely abysmal, but to outshine Gabriel in being the worst defender on the pitch really is some achievement.
Martinez appears to be OK
Although I’m sure you are aware that I am clutching at straws like no person has ever clutched at straws before to try and find a positive from this match but Emiliano Martinez performed well despite the chaos all around him. He made some good saves, showed decent handling, but above all else showed a passion and a dismay at his fellow players when they failed to complete basic tasks. Following his transfer from Chelsea, Petr Cech was supposed to bring a winning mentality and
Following his transfer from Chelsea, Petr Cech was supposed to bring a winning mentality and top-level organisation. Despite this characterisation, he often appears passive in games, and with this season demonstrating that Cech may be on the decline, Martinez can stake a claim for the no.1 spot going forward in the future.
Arsenal are in total meltdown
The soap-opera that is Arsenal Football Club may have just reached its crescendo. The last 20 minutes were really quite uncomfortable to watch. The players were unable to make five yard passes. The Arsenal fans turned on the team and Wenger. The Palace fans were ecstatic, jovial and poked fun at the Arsenal fans with shouts of ‘ole’ and chants themselves about the Arsenal manager. The camera panned to Arsenal fans exuding apathy, their players wandering around the pitch aimlessly. The club is in dire straits, and it looks unlikely for that to change without there being a major overhaul, be that to playing personnel or to the coaching staff.
