Arsenal have just been handed a massive boost in our quest to at least improve on last season’s fourth placed finish in the Premier League. Crystal Palace, helped for the last 15 minutes or so by Arsenal’s own Yaya Sanogo, somehow managed to beat a pretty good Man City side.
Palace were hanging on at the end after Yaya Toure had pulled it back to 2-1 and they were running out of steam, which is why Pardew replaced Murray with Sanogo in the loan striker role and our young French striker did well to hold up the ball on a few occasions to stop the relentless pressure. Hopefully he will get more game time now he is back from injury.
The result means Arsenal stay in second place, two points above the reigning champions and one point above their next oponents Man United. So one or both of those rivals will drop points next weekend. A draw at OLd Trafford would be perfect for us.
If the Gunners can keep up our recent form and take all three points from Burnley away, we might even be able to come back after the FA cup semi-final stil in second and with a game in hand.
Thank-you Sanogo and thank-you Crystal Palace.
Let’s keep looking forward no more looking over our shoulder at the teams below, let’s focus on catching Chelsea! Keep believing guys and get behind the team!
COYG
bloody hell chelsea are being handed this title on a silver platter.
i really want it so theres clear daylight between us an united when we face them next month.
second lads- would be a great result.
Second would be excellent.
Kinda hope though that Utd draw against City next week (that’s puts them 3 points plus gd behind us, and City 4, provided we get a result) but then win against Chelsea.
Whether 2nd is possible or not, Utd and Liverpool getting results makes it much more interesting.
Assuming we’re 10 points behind Chelsea then if they lose to Utd, to us, then Liverpool, that’s 9 of them! If we focus on our games, with a little luck elsewhere, it could be a classic end of season.
pretty big assumption to make-
chelsea have lost only two games all season. 2!
there now supposed to lose three games an drop points in another.
so outta 8 remaining games-half of them they are gonna throw away.
mate come on now-
Well its not like they are the only ones playing for something that matters. QPR and Leichester away (both relegation battlers) and Lpoop, Manure at home. Plus us at the emirates.
Big assumption yes and what we should do is concentrate on difficult Burnley match and then more important FA Cup at Wembley. Worry about our matches and if we succeed, then pray for Chelski slip UPS.
Only assumption I made muff was that we are 10 points behind. Meaning I’m assuming Chelsea will WIN their game in hand. What’s to ‘come on’ about?
Don’t forget they are playing a relegation team right after us… which is tougher than it appears. I expect them to lose at least 5 points.
We just need to focus on ourselves, that is what has got us in this position. Wenger has mentioned numerous times lately they are taking it a game at a time and that is the right way to go. Next away to Burnley, the most important league game we have had this season. Keep winning and the pressure will build on the teams around us, we need to stay calm and continue what we have been doing. #COYG
A win against Burnley is a MUST
Sunday. United play City and Chelsea is away to QPR. So we may have a chance to gain points on these teams.
Also, the following weekend our match against Sunderland is postponed because of FA Cup so we will have a game in hand. If we could beat Burnley, we could possibly stay at 2nd with a game in hand if the United/City result is in our favour.
So concentrate completely on Burnley
They will be tough to beat because they ate only two points from safety s and will play hard.
Awesome evening
Thanks CP
SECOND PLACE !!!!!!!!!
Agreed – Burnley are no pushovers, they set up well, are hard to beat and have everything to play for. That being said, Arsenal should still show Spurs how its done, looking forward to consolidating 2nd place
Yep a draw will do nicely. However if I really had to choose I would prefer a City win as I think UTD look the most likely out of the two not to drop points. Plus we have UTD to play & we can get a result there.
Yes that’s true. I hope for a draw or City win too
I think we could at least find a positive from any result
You’re next CHESLEA!!!
If we manage to finish second it will help us attract big names this summer. It sends a message that Arsenal really are coming back to the top after splashing the cash. Plus already being in the CL without the qualifiers will help too.. And the extra money.. And for us fans, the pride. Not to mention a second trophy in two seasons with the FA Cup, three if you count the Community Shield.
I think we’re ready to go all the way next season. City are in pieces with an ageing squad, Chelsea have really lost their fear factor after all that Invincibles nonsense ended. To be honest it’s almost as if the media won them the league… United will spend majorly in the summer, make no mistake they’ll be after the title next season too. Liverpool, well I can’t see them challenging. They spent over £100m this year and went backwards.
Number one objective this summer: keep Francis Coquelin and Santi Cazorla. I don’t think he others would leave, but Cazorla has been subject to interest, and Coquelin might just attract a bid from somewhere after his rise to prominence. I heard he was being given a new contract, but has he signed it yet? After securing these two we can look to buy.
http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/20150206/coquelin-and-akpom-sign-new-contracts
I knew I read it and that is pretty certain when it’s on arsenal.com.
They (Chelsea) just remind me of the United of old. Like you said after the ‘invincibles’ tag went out the window they’ve looked nothing special to me but like United they know how to win but i really hope they slip up it’ll pain me to see that snake win the prem
excellent correlation.
totally see that
nothing special but know how to win
For me the first job wenger will have in the summer is who to cull from his 38 man first team squad. With the players born 1993 no longer eligible as u21s and a number of players returning from loan he will have a squad of 38 of which only 7 will be classed as u21s. I see no reason to.loan any of those out or sell them, so it means at least 6 players will be sold, released,.loaned or omitted from the 25, more in if he wishes to make additions. There is a few obvious names though. Ajayi, Galindo,.Ryo surely being deemed surplus. Diaby, Flamini, Podolski being the most likely other 3. Then it’s really a case of can we improve the balance and the quality of the squad. In goal Szczesney could well be replaced, martinez could find himself sent out on a season long loan too, as that would allow macey.or.iliev to come into the squad as an underage player thus free.up another slot. In defence I think jenkinson and possibly mertesacker must be looking over their shoulder. In midfield arteta, rosicky may have seen their age finally catch up.with them whilst Walcott and wilshire injuries must be of concern and a combined fee of around £50m for the pair may be too good to.turn down. Up front it’s really whether sanogo campbell.and wellington are worthy of a place in our 25? So after the 3 for me there is potentially 14 players that could be under the microscope for missing out in the summer. I expect at least 6 of them to stay with the most likely departures being jenkinson, flamini, diaby, arteta, rosicky, podolski, campbell, sanogo as well as ryo, galindo and ajayi. to be fair most of them will struggle to make the bench if everyone is fit, a tear or two might be shed for rosicky whilst Jenks, campbell and poldi have a place in some people’s hearts. But with reinforcements sure to be added to the rest of the squad, all.of those players could be.distant memories come the beginning of August.
Wenger said that 95% of the squad will still be here next season. He’s referring to the departures of Diaby, Podolski and maybe Walcott.
I don’t know how Michael Owen keeps getting his opinions published when he is nearly consistently wrong about everything.
Prior to the LP game he argued that Arsenal would not be able to handle the LP quality. Then he had to walk that back after the thumping.
Now, after Ozil gives a MOTM performance and demonstrates his superior quality to that of every LP player on the pitch, Owen now says that Sterling is far better than Ozil – “not even close” he claims.
Professional Punditry (paid opinions from self-proclaimed experts), in both sports and politics, is one of the few professions where you can be consistently wrong and still keep your job.
Are you using a mystic magic 8 Ball to figure that one out?
This all makes sense to me. I don’t think Arteta will be needed but it seems he is staying.
I am a huge Poldi fan and I think Wenger has wasted his talent but I would rather see him helping some Bundesliga club then watch him waste away at Arsenal. And with the current batch of attacking quality there seems to be absolutely no room for him any more anyway.
Rosicky can still play with quality but his endurance limitations are clearly showing now – good for about 65 minutes.
Ryo needs to be the first out the door.
Jenks is a tough call but right now, in my opinion, Bellerin is the best RB for Arsenal and he is perfect for this club.
I think Jenkinson will go. Campbell will probably go, Podolski will go, Diaby will go, Rosicky will go, Ryo will go and a couple others too. I hope Flamini will go but I’m not confident of it. Sanogo I hope will go but again I’m not sure.. Walcott leaving? Doubt it, especially not to an English club, and I can’t see him going abroad.
I have a feeling Man City may come in with a big bid for Oxlade-Chamberlain. I really hope we don’t sell him. He may not be hitting in the goals or getting loads of assists, but he’s a really talented player with so much potential still, he’s still young and will improve.
Please dude, Wenger says he wants Rosicky to RETIRE at Arsenal. That is a quote, not some fantasy.
Tomas is only leaving if he wants to, Wenger is NOT asking him to leave.
totally agree with the poldi Comment His cologne loyalty aside he can make a great striker at many top teams
I. Think he would be great for Dortmund. Both immobile and Ramos hasn’t settled well. He would make a good choice for them.
I really don’t understand people’s impatience when it comes to potentially loaning players…
Seriously… Even after Coquelin, who was sitting on the bench in a lower league and has emerged as a premium defensive midfielder this season! Just because they’re not good enough now (and considering how well our attack is doing at the moment not many players are), there’s really no harm in letting them play elsewhere for a season and giving a chance to develop further.
Sanogo, Campbell, Afobe and Silva are all still very young, raw players with a potentially high ceiling that the manager speaks very fondly of. We’re Arsenal, developing players is a high priority for us and it doesn’t have to have a baring on the first-team.
When did the Arsenal Board appoint you Athletic Director?
Alan Pardew stated that Man City is the 2nd best club in the EPL. On exactly what is he basing this contention???
The table clearly shows that Arsenal have been the 2nd best EPL team this season – that is what 2nd place means.
Current form shows that Arsenal are arguably in the best form of any EPL club right now while Man City’s recent form (5 losses in last 7 games overall) puts them at mid-table form at best.
Please help me Alan? What are you smoking?
Mr. Pardew wants to over highlight his achievement. Its better to say I defeated one of the best teams rather than saying I defeated a team struggling for form.
Who cares what he thinks.
Mohawk — he never said Chelsea were the team better. Honestly, maybe he rates city as better than Chelsea. Without Costa, I’d agree. Arsenal, City, United, Chelsea. Top 4 in that order. With Costa back, Chelsea is behind us, barely.
Chelsea not in my argument – read my words. Pardew said CITY was the 2nd best team in the EPL. Clearly they are not – at least not by any measure right now. That was my comment.
I never said anything about Chelsea at all but I’ll bow to your assessment on that one.
if the manchester derby is a draw there will be clear daylight between them and us
Stop looking back and focus on chelsea
their current form is not enough for them to beat utd and us if liverpool take points of them even better the title and FA cup are ours
Who would have thought it after the slating wenger received on here half way through season
If the Mancs draw then we have the opportunity to create a little buffer. As I’ve said previously our aim should be 81 points. If we hit that target and they draw at the weekend, we’re guaranteed second. If one of the two teams win then we can achieve 3rd at the same same total even if they win every other game. 6/7 Wins is very achievable.