I decided during the Christmas holiday to do a dry January. I spent the 2 week period enjoying Phoenix, hiking and eating and drinking to my heart’s content. It was glorious. 

 Arsenal’s attack, it seems, decided to join me on this front, with even a bit of a head start. We could not score and, to most observers, we looked to be doing it with almost the amount of shots and XG we were amassing.

It is safe to say both of us have enjoyed the reset after the holiday period. Arsenal, after two successful set pieces, put 3 open field goals on a (admittedly) poor Crystal Palace side. I, personally, have enjoyed less Arsenal games and alcohol, working out and eating better to start the new year.  

Watching today, you notice the team moves the ball with even more zip than they had prior. Even before the Trossard goal, players like Zinchenko, Havertz and Ødegaard were playing the ball quicker and into more dangerous areas. Saka and Trossard were trying to do more with the ball, rarely playing it backwards for us to merely horseshoe it around the box endlessly.

I like playing Trossard against a team that wants to sit deep. He and Jesus love to work around the defense, creating uncertainty for the defenders and using both for their strengths of their close control and ability to create space for themselves and others. Players moved into different positions (even after Emile Smith Rowe and Martinelli came on) to confuse and unsettle. It makes the attack more unpredictable and makes for more goals.  

Set pieces also appeared slightly different. This time, we used a shadow runner to open up space for our biggest set piece threat: Big Gabi. He scored 5 in the 2021-2022 season and 3 the year after. Very few central backs score as many as him. This year, he scored an important goal against Liverpool and threatened the goal multiple times against multiple teams. I’m annoyed that his second goal has been counted as an own goal.  

The most encouraging thing, though, is those last two goals by Martinelli. This is what he is best at: running directly at goal after a ball is played quickly into space in front of him. We have failed to capitalize on this strength for most of the season. Today, we finally started to look to unleash him. It’s easy to discredit his goals; he is playing a shattered Crystal Palace defense (American Chris Richards looked shaky the whole game), after all. But, we cannot underestimate the confidence boost these almost identical goals give an attacker.  

All around, a joyous game with little to worry about. The next game is 9 days away. Much like the fixture schedule, I will go back to my dry January, adding another day on to make up for today. 

But, today, let us bask in the glory. 

Cheers