The second gameweek is upon us and this time Crystal Palace stand in front of Arsenal and their first points of the season. Following the recent upset suffered against West Ham, Arsene Wenger’s side will be looking to bounce back quickly and return to the same form that they showed during pre-season.
However, Arsenal should not go into the game against Alan Pardew’s side overconfident like they did a week ago. Since the former Newcastle boss took over at Palace, they have looked a team transformed. They started winning more matches, became stronger in defence and in general became a team that was very difficult to break down, however, if Arsenal want their first points of the campaign, that’s exactly what they’ll have to do.
Unlike West Ham, who had one or two danger men, Crystal Palace have a plethora of players that could easily win the game for them, thanks to their intelligent transfer policy this summer.
Arsenal need to remain wary of some of the players who stayed on from last year. The likes of Mile Jedinak, Wilfried Zaha and Yannick Bolasie all offer problems in their own right. Jedinak is a rock in midfield and has been since the day that they gained promotion back into the Premier League. He is their midfield general and safeguards their back four with a calm, assured style of play.
Zaha is starting to regain the form that he showed back in the Championship, form that earned him his infamous move to Manchester United. His pace and skill on the ball will need to be watched closely; the Arsenal defence cannot afford to give him too much space or time on the ball, or else he will race past them. Should Nacho Monreal start, which is very likely, he will need to make sure that he marks Zaha nice and tightly. Let’s face it, the Spaniard is not the quickest of players, and so the only way to deal with wingers like Zaha is to stick close to them, cut off their supply line, or stop them moving anywhere with the ball. If the 22-year-old can’t get past Nacho, then he will be forced to move the ball on and thus stops the threat of one of their best attacking players.
The case is very much the same with Bolasie. He is just as skillful on the ball and will rinse past most defenders and that is why, as long as he is fit, Hector Bellerin should start, so that he can combat the serious threat the Congolese man poses.
In terms of new players, Pardew has bought very well. The purchase of Yohan Cabaye, free transfer of Bakary Sako and the loan deal for Patrick Bamford only adds to the depth in attacking options that Palace can field. Cabaye is Premier League proven and up until a two seasons ago was being linked with a move to Arsenal, so that suggests a little bit about his quality. An excellent distributor of the ball, the Frenchman is more than happy to sit deep and ping passes across the pitch, as well as lead the charge in the attack.
Bakary Sako becomes yet another pacey winger that Alan Pardew has at his disposal. Famed for his set-piece taking, the Malian has been on the radar of many Premier League clubs for a while and his release from Wolves earlier in the transfer window allowed Crystal Palace to snap him up for free.
Patrick Bamford is another player altogether. The one thing that the Palace attack was missing was a genuine striker, and Bamford might very well prove to be that man. The young English forward was on loan at Middlesbrough from Chelsea last season and lit up the Championship with his goals, which so very nearly helped his side reach promotion. Having scored 19 goals in 43 appearances, it is safe to say that he has genuine, raw talent. However, it remains to be seen whether he has what it takes to play in the Premier League.
In order to win against Crystal Palace, Arsenal don’t really need to do very much. As long as they can cancel out Pardew’s most attacking players by cutting off their passing avenues or closing down their wingers, then Palace will have no way to attack. On the attack, Arsenal must act quickly. If they dither on the ball after defending, then it will give Palace time to regain their defensive shape, which will allow them to choke out the Arsenal attack. With players like Theo Walcott, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and hopefully Alexis Sanchez, there is no reason why Arsenal can’t counter quickly and with conviction.
That isn’t to say that Arsenal need to sit deep and defend for 90 minutes. In truth, the north London side should be able to control the game, but shouldn’t just pass between the Crystal Palace lines for the entire game. They must be adventurous in their attack and make passes that are risky, because against a team as well organised and rigid as Palace, Arsenal need to play risky football in order to unlock their defence; and there are no better players in the Arsenal line-up to play these balls than Santi Cazorla and Mesut Ozil, who will, without doubt, create the highest number of chances in the game.
