You can almost sense the disappointment among the Arsenal ‘Wenger Out’ brigade. A plucky, last-gasp 2-2 draw against Manchester City. And then a stroll against West Ham United. Three goals. None conceded. Whisper it, Arsenal looked pretty powerful.
It is, of course, not to the liking of some. The more things improve, the more likely it is that Arsene Wenger will stay. You even get a sense of it from the players. The bizarre ‘no celebration’ after Theo Walcott equalised City’s first goal. Olivier Giroud chipping in against the Hammers and then strolling back to the centre circle as if he’d just been refused entry to a bus because he’d forgotten his ticket.
The good news for the mutinous lot is that on Monday night they travel to Crystal Palace. And Palace, rejuvenated, fired up and, most importantly, organised, look a good bet to get the rival factions – inners and outers – rowing again. Palace are 4.6 with Bet365 and other green listed bookmakers for the three points. There are far worse wagers around.
Palace had won four on the spin – including that remarkable victory at Chelsea – to ease their relegation fears before losing to Southampton last time out. Just as Sam Allardyce said way back when he took the job, it would not be until March until fans began to see an improvement. So there is a good chance Palace are being chalked up as the team they were, rather than the one they are.
We know exactly what to expect from them. Just remember back to how chaotic they were under Alan Pardew and then think the opposite. In crude terms, Allardyce has told his players where to stand and where to kick the ball in certain situations. Footballers call it ‘shape’ and ‘having a plan’.
No doubt they will also snap into tackles. And this is where Palace really have the edge. Even the old Arsenal, which were not much better than the current Arsenal, but you take our point, didn’t like it up ‘em , so to speak. When the rough stuff started they were found wanting. We would be amazed if Palace did not try to make this a physical battle.
If they do, they should win. For evidence of that, take a look at the way some of the Arsenal players strolled about the place at the Emirates against City. Mesut Ozil was one culprit. Now for the preview for that match we said Arsenal would get something from the game because they had a far better win percentage with him in the team.
But they could do without the lack of effort from the German. For City’s second, he gave the ball away in front of his box and made no effort to track back or close down the ball. It was shocking. It showed there is something seriously wrong. But at least it gave the Wenger outers something to cling to.
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