My Arsenal Blog

On coming close to a late winner:
That’s what I wanted to see from my team with 10 men. The reaction was really, really positive and they wanted to win the game. They went for it and we had three or four really good situations. We created the best chance with Nico and Laca. We were unlucky not to win the game.

On losing Aubameyang for the next three games:
That’s a massive blow. We know how important Auba is for the team. Maybe we’re going to lose him for a couple of games.  .......Read more here.....

Arsenal were unable to get the three points at Selhurst Park this past weekend as they were held to a 1-1 draw against Crystal Palace – although given the nature of the game and how it went, there’s an argument to be made that they were massively fortunate to even come away with a point at all. That, of course, is due to the red card sustained by Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang which seemed to completely alter the tempo of the game, even after Palace’s equaliser.  .......Read more here.....

Arsenal drew against Crystal Palace for the second time this season when the two teams met on Saturday. A glance at the result will give off an impression that the only different thing this time around was that the Gunners threw away a one-goal lead, not two. But if you’ve seen the two games in full, you should be able to tell that there was much more to it.  .......Read more here.....

It’s time to take another deep dive into the crazy world of the Premier League as Arsenal attempt to start looking ahead to the top six once again, as opposed to behind them given that they are currently situated in 10th place. It’s likely that they aren’t going to go any higher than 9th with a win over Palace unless they absolutely batter them, but this is a marathon, not a sprint.  .......Read more here.....

On Aubameyang talking about his love for the club:
I was very pleased to read those comments. He knows exactly what I think about him and obviously he’s a massive player for us. But at the moment we’re in the middle of the season and we haven’t discussed anything further on that at the club.

On having talks with Auba before the end of the season:
My intention is to keep Auba obviously because I know that if we keep Auba with us, we’re going to be stronger and closer to winning football matches. That’s the only thing.  .......Read more here.....

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has had a mixed start to life as Gunners boss to say the least, and as we look ahead to the immediate future, things aren’t going to get any easier as he prepares for a tough outing against Crystal Palace. Before the game against Roy Hodgson’s top half side, Arteta spoke with the media.

On the difference that a full week of training makes:
At least we had some time to train a few things that I wanted to start implementing. It is nice to have a few more players back, a few from injury, and a bigger group where we can be not just match, post-match, recovery, pre-match all the time. So I am pleased, and when the weather is like this, even better.  .......Read more here.....

Arsenal were unable to keep the pressure up on the top four as they fell to a disappointing draw at home to Crystal Palace. The Emirates was a hostile place to be throughout the course of this match, which was a shame, as the Gunners were able to play some really nice stuff in the early stages of the contest.

Letting the side down

The home side got off to an absolute flyer of a start as they found themselves 2-0 up within a space of less than ten minutes. Sokratis Papastathopoulos and David Luiz were both able to capitalise from set pieces, putting the hosts in a pretty commanding position. However, anyone who has seen these two teams play recently would’ve known that we were a long way off of this game being done and dusted.  .......Read more here.....

Arsenal knew they were in for a tough game yesterday, but they probably didn’t expect to have quite so many issues throughout the pitch. One man who had a less than stellar day was Matteo Guendouzi, who seems to still be finding his feet as an Arsenal player. In the wake of the result, the man himself gave his thoughts on what transpired and why he decided to take Wilfried Zaha down when he did.

On settling for the point:
We really wanted to win the game so we attacked a lot towards the end to get the third goal. We allowed spaces [for Palace on the break] but it’s because we really wanted to win.  .......Read more here.....

Speaking ahead of his team’s trip across town to the Emirates, Crystal Palace boss Roy Hodgson has revealed that the transfer of Wilfried Zaha to Arsenal was never close to actually happening.

Arsenal were known long-time admirers of the Ivorian, whose pace and trickery are certainly a reason for worry for any defender he may be facing, not least Arsenal’s on Sunday. And the Gunners have long been searching for a player like that. Remember, manager Unai Emery spoke about it openly near the end of last year, when Arsenal were being linked with the likes of Yannick Carrasco and Ivan Perisic. As it turned out, they only managed to bring in Denis Suarez on loan from Barcelona, with a reported option to buy at the end of the season.  .......Read more here.....

This weekend will see Arsenal’s return to Premier League action as they prepare to go head to head with Crystal Palace at the Emirates. Last season Palace were able to cause a real stir in their two games against the Gunners, and this time around, we’re expecting the same thing. Alas, while the Eagles are a solid team, they’re the kind of opposition that Unai Emery’s men need to be beating if they’re serious about confirming their status as top four contenders.  .......Read more here.....