Palace look to extend unbeaten away run at Arsenal – View From The Enemy

Crystal Palace come to the Emirates today at a time when they are enjoying one of their best runs ever in the Premier League, while Arsenal are going though one of their worst ever under Wenger so the Eagles should be feeling quietly confident of getting some sort of result at the Emirates today.

So today’s View From The Enemy comes from the Official Palace website, and they have some interesting facts to disclose about both sides current form….

Preview: Arsenal v Crystal Palace
Palace put their five-game away unbeaten run in the Premier League on the line when they face Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday afternoon, searching for their first win at the venue.

Roy Hodgson’s team haven’t lost on their league travels since they were last in north London to take on Tottenham Hotspur at Wembley on 5th November, and they will be looking to extend that form at the expense of the Gunners, who have struggled on and off the field since they beat Palace 3-2 at Selhurst Park just 23 days before the teams do battle again.

With the future of Alexis Sanchez dominating the headlines in recent weeks, Arsenal have struggled without the Chile international in their ranks. Wenger has also seen Theo Walcott depart for Everton this week, while the futures of Mesut Ozil and Jack Wilshere are also up in the air, meaning there is a lot on the Frenchman’s plate right now.

Nightmare start to 2018 for Wenger
Since beating Palace, the Gunners have failed to win any of their subsequent five matches, with league draws against West Bromwich Albion and Chelsea followed by last weekend’s 2-1 defeat at Bournemouth.

Wenger was on the sidelines for that game due to his comments following the controversial draw at The Hawthorns, and he watched from afar whilst Arsenal’s defence of the FA Cup ended meekly at Nottingham Forest – the first time they’d exited the competition at the third round stage during the Frenchman’s 21-year tenure.

While one chance of silverware has disappeared, they did record an encouraging 1-1 draw at Chelsea in the first leg of their League Cup semi-final, with the return game at the Emirates following the weekend’s encounter with the Eagles.

View From The Opposition
Arsene Wenger: “I am confident yes, but it is down to our performance. Crystal Palace were in a good run before we played against them and since they have had positive results again, so we just have to focus on our performance and make that we win the game.

“It is difficult at the moment, but as well very exciting because we have many challenges in front of us. We of course play the semi-final next week and after we have the Europa League as well, which is another target, so we have to very quickly get over this transfer period because for us especially this period has been more disturbing than ever.

“Why? Because we have big players that are at the end of their contract and that is the first time that it happens, that we have such influential players close to the end of their contracts and it has been more destabilising than ever.”

Team News
Hodgson has revealed that Joel Ward could be available again having trained with the squad for the past 10 games following his groin injury, and Yohan Cabaye is also available again.

Ruben Loftus-Cheek is touch-and-go to feature as he recovers from a back issue, but Andros Townsend, Jeffrey Schlupp, Mamadou Sakho, Scott Dann, Jason Puncheon and Connor Wickham are out long-term.

Wenger has admitted that he could have Mesut Ozil, Nacho Monreal and Laurent Koscielny back for the visit of Palace, but youngster Ainsley Maitland-Niles is struggling with illness. Should Sanchez’s proposed move to Manchester United fall through, then Wenger has stated he’ll feature on the weekend.

Having been involved in five goals in his last eight games against the Eagles, Hodgson will be pleased to hear that Olivier Giroud is a week away from recovering from a hamstring injury.

Matchday Officials
Chris Kavanagh takes charge of his first ever Palace, and indeed Arsenal, match on Saturday. He made his Premier League debut in April 2017 but before then he had been fourth official in the top-flight on a number of occasions. He has referreed eight Premier League games in 2017/18, showing 30 yellow cards and no reds.

Referee: Chris Kavanagh
Assistant Refs: Peter Kirkup and Adam Nunn
Fourth Official: Andre Marriner

Matchday Stats
After a run of 12 consecutive home Premier League wins, the Gunners have won just one of their last four at the Emirates (D2 L1)

Meanwhile, after losing eight consecutive away Premier League games, the Eagles are unbeaten in their last five on the road (W2 D3). Only Liverpool (6) are on a current longer run without defeat away from home in the division.

Bakary Sako is Crystal Palace’s top scorer in all competitions this season (6), and has scored in his last two competitive games. He’s not scored in three games in a row in the same season of English football since he was at Wolves in February 2015.

17 Comments

  1. I will be supporting Palace today and hope they win comfortably. ALL that matters to me and other realists is removing Wenger ASAP and further chaos is the quickest way to achieve this aim .We are clearly destined to finish 6th or lower and for me, the lower the better,for the reason above. Until the loony is gone we are stuffed,so lets get it over with the soonest way possible

    1. @jon fox

      Couldn’t agree more. Sometimes in life you need to take a step back, to move forward, and that’s what we need. Although to be fair to Wenger, he’s already achieving that! 5th last season, most probably 6th this season. Haha

      I cannot make a case for us winning today, and that’s how far we’ve fallen under Wenger.

      1. which means you will be supporting Crystal Palace in this game..

        Additionally you could also support any other clubs in the league as well….

        City and Chelsea must be your favs….spending and sacking

        1. Well spending, and sacking, is pretty much how EVERY club in football operates. So do I want Arsenal to go along with norm…of course I do! Continuity is very rare in football.

        2. John, there are two points in this question which I don’t think you fully appreciate. one is: do you just wish to win today but get nothing done about the disgraceful way our manager is mis-running our club? Point two is: do you or do you not, care primarily about our future and chance to once again seriously challenge the toplevel clubs. I suugest to you that wanting short term wins at the expenceof ever hoping to put right the greater problem, is plain daft. The vast majority of our fans want Wenger gone, many of us for a very many years past. Short termism is what he , the owner and complicit and hopeless board have been doing for many years now. That is precisely WHY our club is steadily regressing. More astute fansknow this, deep in their soul and can see the vital necessity for a complete change of regime and in time, with a proper manager installed, a cure. YOU HAVE INDICATED BY YOUR COMMENTS THAT YOU PERSONALLY ARE NOT AMONG THOSE ASTUTE FANS. This is very sad to hear, as your heart is clearly in the right place. But I have to ask, is your brain also in the right place?

      2. i don’t wish for neither do i delight in arsenal being beaten i’m sure none of you (above) do either. one way or another wenger is not going to be the manager forever. even his age will determine the obvious is drawing near even for him. i prefer support the team not its regime.

        i suggest medicine and counselling for those “supporting arsenal” and simultaneously wishing the same team we’re supposed to be passionate about gets beaten. (by analogy) i like milk but at those rare times i find milk can be off (bad) it doesn’t prevent me liking or being happy to have, buy or enjoy milk. if ever our team experiences mid-table mediocrity or some worst misfortune or downwards spiral there’s nothing to guarantees any manager will get us out of that pitfall.

        1. I suggest you read my reply to john Ibrahim , above, before further insulting me and other astute fans who care enough to actually wish to DO something about the mess our club is in. Wishing and hoping changes nothing; you just get older and more frustrated while our club continues to stagnate towards the” mid-table mediority or worse misfoirtune”you rightly outline. The crucial difference between your camp of supporters and my camp is that one , mine, is determined to do something about the problems. Your camp is content to do nothing, just wish and hope, which is next to useless.

          1. @jon fox – interested to know what you achieved after openly declaring THAT YOU “will be supporting Palace (yesterday) and hope they win comfortably. ALL that matters to me and other realists (blah blah…)”. I suggest sir you achieved nothing and that as early as in the 1st half yesterday you realised you little more than make a fool of yourself with the thick-skinned and callous mind you possess. i say no fan regardless of their teams plight in the epl openly declares they support their teams opposition FACT. Finally, on the point of calling yourself a realist HOW?? i don’t want wenger as manager either – however, the flip side is unlike you i never wish or declare the arsenal experience a comfortable or humiliating defeat which in your [realist] wisdom you did = not joined up thinking (its much the opposite).

      1. We are ARSENAL for gods sake.This is what it has come to?Worried about Palace at home with them having more players out than us?Still -the team needs supporting on the pitch and it SHOULD be a standard 3 points.But let’s not forget-We are ARSENAL for gods sake

        1. Look at the teams we’ve already lost to!! Palace are on a better run than we are… yes I know we’re Arsenal but look at the sorry state we’re in right now, it’s a joke! I never want us to lose, but I’m so pis*ed off with the way things are

  2. No matter what state the club is in or who’s in charge, I never want Arsenal to lose. Yes I have bad feelings torwards Wenger and the board and would love to see a tide of change within in the club, but being a fan or supporter you always want your team to win no matter what. Yet still this is another tricky game given Arsenals current state of affairs, let’s hope who ever plays today gives it there all and wins.

  3. My prediction:
    Half time Arsenal 2 Palace 0
    Full time Arsenal 2 Palace 2

    Shocking defending by Arsenal but AW claims Arsenal robbed by Referee’s bad decisions which resulted in Palace being awarded two penalties. But Palace miss one (could have been Arsenal 2 Palace 3!) but Palace still score an ‘offside goal’ in 90+3 minutes of the game.

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