Arsenal finally won after three consecutive losses, defeating Crystal Palace 5-0 in a game that not only signaled the return of the title fight but also gave Gooners confidence that the squad had rediscovered their goal-scoring form (after weeks of fury about its inefficiency).
The star of the show was Brazilian defender Gabriel Magalhaes, who demonstrated Arsenal’s scoring prowess from set pieces in the first half. In the 11th minute, the Brazilian headed the ball into the back of the net from a Declan Rice corner, and in the 37th minute, he headed in a corner that Dean Henderson mishandled to concede his own goal. Leandro Trossard, who was favored on the left wing over Gabriel Martinelli, extended Arsenal’s lead with a goal in the 59th minute. Martinelli (who replaced Trossard) did not disappoint either, scoring two goals in added time.
That triumph must have boosted Arsenal’s confidence. They must view this match as a stepping stone to put us back into contention for the title. Leandro Trossard hinted after the game that it was fantastic for the team to get back to winning ways, and he went on to say that he believes they are firmly in the title race and that even though it would be difficult, they will focus on themselves and do everything they can to win.
Leandro Trossard on the title race:
"After the last results if you can score five goals and a clean sheet, we can't wish for a better performance.
"A lot of teams are in it. We take it week by week. Every week it can change. We just have to look at ourselves & look forward." pic.twitter.com/8BCSCNJELe
— Chris Wheatley (@ChrisWheatley) January 20, 2024
“After the last results, if you can score five goals and a clean sheet, we can’t wish for a better performance,” said Trossard after the win over Palace.
“A lot of teams are in it. We take it week by week. Every week, it can change. We just have to look at ourselves and look forward.”
The 5-0 victory must have quieted Arsenal’s critics; with 17 games remaining, they have complete control over their destiny.
Daniel O
No, it’s unacceptable the position we’re in. Look at the money MA has spent! It’s ridiculous he’s playing catch up on bang average managers like Klopp and Pep. We should be at least 10 points clear!
Sack MA now, and bring in Rooney because we desperately need a complete rebuild, and Wayne knows how to work with the Americans far better than MA could ever understand!
Finally Jen
Over the top after beating a 15th place team, closer to relegation. You do have a good sense of humor, where was it when we lost to FFC , WHU?
Surely, this must be sarcasm
Conte and Mourinho are available to extort contract-severance money from Kroenke two years later, by deliberately making problems
Jen, not sarcasm, not funny, not true and not the post of someone who knows what they are talking about.
Presumably you meant SOMETHING, as it is not possible you are being serious. But WHAT is it you mean?
It will be very difficult chasing the near perfection that City and LP to a lesser extent have displayed in the recent past. I believe we need to beat LP at the Emirates and drop only a few points at the most for the rest of the season to have a chance. Even then we have to hope that Rodri gets suspended for 2 games for his 10th yellow card and City gets complacent and takes some wins for granted. Winning the title is still possible but highly unlikely. I’m looking more toward us making certain of a UCL spot by either finishing in the top 4 or 5 (depends on how the PL clubs do in Europe). COYG!
I can’t see us winning the league, particularly without a ‘strong scary CF’. I personally think Arteta is too scared to sell, something boringly, scarily, conservative in him…..he is a little ‘scared of change’. Many teams double up on Saka and Martinelli, which means we, de-facto, cannot win the league………less goals………no Plan B. Maybe if we get a real quality midfield player and striker in the summer, we can challenge again.
Mathematically, we can still win EPL. But we have failed too many tests, such as when playing against Spuds, Newcastle, Chelsea, Fulham and West Ham
Liverpool and Man City have been more consistent as well, so I guess we might end up in the third or the fourth place
Surely we are in the title race but only just, any of five teams can lift that big ears mug, but if the aging Kevin de Bruyne legs can hold it will take an act of God to deny the champions four in a row
My word 🙂
Top 4 will be a struggle let alone winning it.
Miserable git
Top three and progress in the CL (semis, say) and I’d be fine.
I’m a realist
A much needed win but realistically nothing has changed, we are still 5 points behind Liverpool. If we were in their position we would be in control of our destiny but we’re not. With 17 games to go of course we are still in the title race but we need a good winning run to gain momentum and confidence. It’s going to get tougher next month when the knockout stages of the UCL take place!
To Jen, you forgot to include Garry Neville. He’s been out of a job for a long while, so should be well rested and brimming with fresh ideas!
Of course theoretically we are still in the title race along with 7 or 8 teams who are theoretically still in the title race. If Liverpool and Man City win every game then obviously we won’t win it however well we play. That is what sport is all about, it’s unpredictable and anything can happen. Whether we are good enough to win it, who knows, there are still plenty of games left for anything to happen. Let’s just enjoy being involved and we have a good run in the C.L.
At this stage in the season,we need our players to step us their performances, individually, and collectively.Crystal Palace were very poor on Saturday, and unfortunately they may well be dragged into the battle for relegation.I have always had a soft spot for Palace and I hope they get the usual “bounce” when their new Manager is appointed as I suspect this will be announced shortly.Based on what I have seen of Man City and Liverpool recently, they are gaining momentum and starting to purr whilst we are not totally convincing despite the comfortable win against CP..Arteta is faced with a dilemma in that both Saka and Martinelli are far more effective in a counter attacking role than they are when we dominate possession and they receive the ball deeper in the field.Liverpool seem to have overcome this problem by having a more direct approach.By going long, usually through Konate or AA they give their quick wide players more one on one opportunities than our slow, studied approach, which enables defenders to retain their shape and double up on our danger men.Unfortunately, in the absence of Partey, we are lacking in good long passers although Zinchenko could be the answer given a more permanent midfield role.Without a tweak in our tactics, we become predictable and as our Manager seems reluctant to see players interchange we are destined for third of fourth position in my humble opinion.
Last season was an opportunity missed, sadly and Liverpool look more likely than we do to take on City.
That said, never say never, but a lot would have to go our way in terms of players staying fit (Partey and Tomi returning after injury and international duty)
We were definitely very stale before the winter break and although Palace were pretty awful, our players looked up for it on their return.
This season has highlighted a couple of things to me. It will take Arteta longer than he thought regarding the claims he made, to reach the top. I agree that an enormous amount of money has been spent to get us where we are and the reality is that to get to the top requires significant investment over a period of time.
Unlike Liverpool who made a packet with the sale of Coutinho, that money could be reinvested, whereas we have had to build up over time from what I consider to be a very average base with nobody worth a bean in the transfer market. Our team has a resale value which is a start!
Klopp and Pep are superior managers to Arteta and have years more experience to call on. Apart from the LIverpool blip last year, their respective seamless rebuilds are impressive.
Anything less than third and I will be disappointed
LP investing the Coutinho funds in Virgil was truly a turning point for that club in the modern day. Before his arrival LP was really struggling defensively for many seasons.
Its incorrect for the witer to claim “we have complete control over our destiny”.
As we can only control Liverpool dropping THREE points when playing us, whilst they are currently five points ahead, and have NO control over anything else they do, PLAINLY that hyped phrase used by DANIEL O is inaccurate and wrong!
LEAVING ASIDE though, that we beat poor Palace containing only ONE top player, Eze, far too much unrealistic hype is being made for our title chances.
At very best , they are now REMOTE!
Third place is by far the most LIKELY final position.
Ask me again after our next two games
Ask you WHAT again? You didn’t say WHAT you refer to!
Never in doubt, could’nt be more assured!
To answer the headline ….. No, we are in a race for top four.
The Liverpool game is critical, given the current 5 point deficit in League points. If we are talking about Arsenal beating Crystal Palace, we also have to consider Liverpool demolishing Bournemouth, who were on a run of form. Manchester City with De Bruyne back and Haarland returning are primed for their late season surge. Spurs with their transfer business, players returning from international duty (Son, Bissouma, Sarr) and players returning from injury (Maddison, Le Celso, Bentacur) cannot be discounted. With Aston Villa, Newcastle, and Brighton in the mix with half a season to go, top 4 will be very competitive, let alone finishing first. The chances of dropping points are high, if teams fail to turn up on the day, given the high standard of competition.