Arsenal’s Late Late Show Keeps Euro Hopes Alive

Crystal Palace 1 Arsenal 3  
Premier League  
Wednesday 19th May 2021 7pm  

Doctor, the patient is not yet dead. And if Everton and Spurs both fail to win on Sunday in what, on paper, are difficult away fixtures, Arsenal can still squeak into European football next season, and celebrate St. Totteringham’s Day for the first time since 2016? And that season an absolute collapse by the noisy neighbours was required to give Arsenal their best placed Premier League finish since the stadium move. But hang on there, to make seventh place even with Spurs and Everton doing their bit, Mikel Arteta’s side would have to beat Brighton at home. You know the rest. This is a team that can achieve remarkable results in difficult circumstances. But give them a home banker? I will be taking a good look at laying a Gunners’ home win on my betting exchange of preference (which handsomely rewarded me in the FA Cup Final as the odds on a Leicester win looked just a bit too generous at over 7-2).

I digress. There was a game of football last night, and Roy Hodgson’s final home match as the manager of his boyhood club. Fair play to Hodgson. He can get results from players who are generally workmanlike, and as a consequence keep a certain level of club in rude health. But in the three top jobs he’s had – Inter, Liverpool and England – it’s a case of could have done better, failing to deliver a trophy. Still, he did get Fulham to a Europa League final. He can organize a team and it was this that Arsenal had to overcome at Selhurst Park as the home team, backed by some actual fans in the stands, made opportunities difficult to come by. And of course, Wilfried Zaha was always a threat on the counter attack. 

As it was, referee Anthony Taylor had a nightmare, re-writing what is already an ever-changing football rulebook for one game only. Two clear and obvious red cards for offences committed against Chambers and Elneny became yellows as you got the feeling the man in the middle did not want to pee on the parade of Hodgson’s home farewell. A kick on Kieran Tierney after the ball had gone out of play did not even get a yellow. Palace should have been reduced to nine men by the interval, and perhaps, with no crowd, they might have been. 100% if Arsenal had committed the offences (the Schlupp assault on Chambers was no different to the challenge by Aubameyang that saw his dismissal at this very ground a couple of seasons back) the players would have been enjoying an early bath. An absolute howler of a performance from Taylor fortunately had no influence on the final outcome. 

Arsenal’s first goal was a thing of beauty, as Arteta’s players did what he wanted by delivering the ball into the danger area from which goals are likely if the final ball is played well. Saka and Tierney combined excellently to tee up a Pepe volley and after 34 minutes, things were looking promising, not least because of the scoreline at White Hart Lane where Spurs were conspiring to lose to Villa. 

Palace had their moments and with just under half an hour left, the ball was swung in from a free kick and Benteke met it with a firm header. Hopes that it might be disallowed for offside did not come good, and a light push by the scorer on Elneny was allowed. I’ve seen those given as a foul often enough. VAR does not actually make things any better where such decisions are concerned because there is a subjective view by a human being, just the same as in real time with a referee. Offside may be frustrating, but by and large, the human element is taken out of it. Anyway, we are just going to have to get used to it. Ultimately, it generally makes things fairer, although yesterday’s game did feel like a exception, given VAR backed Taylor on his two bottled red cards.

I’ve seen enough draws at Palace over the years to have accepted this was likely to be another as the clock wound down. But then came the sub Martinelli, entering the fray in the 78th minute in place of Saka. In injury time, another sub, Odegaard, played a cross into a good area and the Brazilian got enough on it to allow himself an attempt on target which he finished with great composure. It was a Martinelli moment akin to the equalizer at Stamford Bridge a few weeks into Arteta’s reign – God only knows why the manager doesn’t play this lad more. 

Pepe provided the icing on the cake with a third goal deep into injury time, the kind of run where defenders are afraid to touch him for fear of giving away a penalty. More of this please – your actual taking on players. He may be a defensive liability, but if he can create more of this kind of danger, it can compensate. 

So a feel good finish and a demonstration of some late-season spirit, which has sadly been lacking a little too often this season – hence Arsenal’s League position. The Europa Conference League may be a poisoned chalice, but it would help the club financially, prop up their UEFA co-efficient (for what that is worth), and deny Spurs the income were they to qualify by beating Leicester. It would also almost certainly save Arteta’s job, as who knows whether the noises of support coming out of the club are authentic. Snatching victory from the jaws of a disappointing away draw should not mask the reality – it has been a very poor season. If seventh place can be regarded as some kind of triumph, well, it just shows how far the club has fallen.

Still, as a 90 minute spectacle, the win at Palace was enjoyable, and we saw some good moments that, were they produced more often, give actual hope that the club can climb back into contention. It’s not the first time we can say that under the last two managers. Consistency seems to be the key.

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