It may well have been a bit more nerve wracking and close than most Arsenal fans were hoping for, but at least the Gunners did get back to winning ways with our narrow Boxing Day victory over West Brom. That victory and the three points it brought us got Arsenal back on track but in order to have any serious hopes of lifting the Premier League trophy in May that needs to be the first of many league wins.
Next up is struggling Crystal Palace and with the game being played at the Emirates stadium on new years day and looking at Palace’s league position and recent form you might think it is another three points in the bag, except for the fact that they have a new manager in the shape of Sam Allardyce and according to a Sky Sports report the Palace defender Martin Kelly reckons that the Big Sam effect is already making itself felt at Selhurst Park.
They were unlucky to only get a point off Watford yesterday and Allardyce will have them fired up for Arsenal, make no mistake. They can also take heart from the fact that despite losing against Tottenham, Chelsea, Manchester United, Liverpool and Man City this season, only one of those defeats was by more than one goal, the 4-2 loss to Liverpool.
That shows you that Palace are a good side and with the new manager giving the club a lift, should Arsenal be worried that our next opponents are likely to be very hard to beat?
Bob.