One other weekend, one other late displaying for Arsenal, which as soon as once more left it late as a way to get a outcome. And what an vital one it’d simply be.
Final weekend, it was a 94th-minute equalizer from Gabriel Martinelli towards Manchester Metropolis. On Sunday, enjoying in entrance of a loud, thunderous St. James’ Park, Mikel Arteta’s facet recovered towards Newcastle United after being down 1-0 for almost all of the sport by scoring two late objectives for the 2-1 win. Arsenal now sits in second place within the Premier League desk and after Liverpool’s loss to Crystal Palace, the Gunners concluded the weekend simply two factors away from Arne Slot’s facet.
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It was a busy recreation of main VAR dramatics as early on Arsenal thought it earned a penalty after Nick Pope appeared to have fouled Viktor Gyökeres contained in the penalty space, however it was overturned. It was a tricky one to determine for positive, however there was the tiniest of touches from the goalkeeper to counter the unique choice.
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Within the thirty fourth minute, Newcastle, pushed by its followers, opened the scoring. How about Nick Woltemade, by the way in which? The German made it 1-0 due to a header from Sandro Tonali and now with two league objectives — each scored at dwelling — the 6-foot-6 striker has shortly made Newcastle followers overlook about Alexander Isak. Woltemade, who appears extra like a surfer character in a ‘90s teen highschool drama, is beloved by the Toon Military because of his work ethic, not simply his scoring, and that’s one thing that goes down effectively with the Geordie trustworthy. Newcastle celebrated with the lead.
The primary half was an ideal instance of Arsenal’s identified persona. It creates a whole lot of fairly patterns however the ruthlessness is usually missed. Within the first 45 minutes, the Gunners earned 22 touches inside Newcastle’s field. Solely Tottenham had extra as an away staff within the Premier League this season, however Arteta’s facet entered the dressing room trailing by a objective.
Gabriel scored a late header vs. Newcastle to carry Arsenal to second place within the Premier League.
(Sportsphoto/Allstar through Getty Pictures)
Because the second half developed, the North Londoners appeared almost definitely to attain however with 10 minutes remaining, they continued to wrestle to search out an equalizer. However lastly, it was the dependable Mikel Merino who got here to the rescue and the humorous factor about it’s that it was much like Woltemade’s objective as Declan Rice produced an in-swinger for the Spanish worldwide. Merino scored towards his former facet and made it 1-1 with 5 minutes remaining in common time. There was a chance of a penalty for Newcastle after a handball within the field however VAR as soon as once more deemed it not so.
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Arsenal stored pushing and due to one more set piece, Gabriel got here to the rescue with a 96th-minute winner. It was an enormous outcome and regardless that we’re nonetheless in September, we now have to keep in mind that when these groups arrive in Might and look again on the season, they are going to mirror on the “what ifs.” Final weekend towards Metropolis and Sunday are two nice examples.
Arsenal confirmed excessive resiliency towards Newcastle and refused to surrender. It’s a testomony to the character of the squad, not simply its depth and which may simply be the wanted treatment as a way to win the Premier League title for the primary time in additional than twenty years. It merely doesn’t surrender and on Sunday, it acquired what it deserved.
Crystal Palace beneath Oliver Glasner is the actual deal
After repeating final month’s Group Defend’s antics and beating Liverpool as soon as once more, thus handing the defending champion its first lack of the season, it’s fairly clear to anybody who pays consideration that Oliver Glasner’s Crystal Palace is the actual deal. The victory over Arne Slot’s facet got here in dramatic style after Eddie Nketiah’s stoppage-time winner however let’s not get it twisted now, the house facet had been completely adequate for the three factors.
“We had been capable of create quite a bit towards a Palace staff, which infrequently concedes an opportunity,” stated Slot after the sport. “However if you take a look at the primary half, they completely deserved to win. Within the second half, it was a significantly better efficiency from us. If one staff deserved to win, it was Palace.”
This kind of admission continues to be the development for any opponent going through them because the Eagles have now matched their very own file of 18 matches with no loss in all competitions and stand alone as the one undefeated staff within the Premier League season.
“We’re nonetheless in September, so there’s nothing extra to say,” stated Glasner to Sky Sports activities. “Final yr, we had been the one staff who had by no means received at this stage of the Premier League. They ended with a factors file and profitable the FA Cup. That’s why we’re all the time humble. We take this positivity and these optimistic emotions and feelings.”
And that’s Glasner to a tee. The Austrian is methodical, cautious, calm and structured. He doesn’t get carried away as a result of he is aware of that this job is about tranquility over hype. He was the identical at Eintracht Frankfurt when the Bundesliga facet received the Europa League in his first season as boss however it got here at a season when the German facet struggled till the second half of the marketing campaign. At Palace, it has equally been a step-by-step course of making Palace stronger since his arrival in February of 2024. His technique adapts to the gamers versus the opposite means round and that’s why he’s such an amazing head coach, as a result of he adjusts and permits his gamers to shine, with or with out the ball. Truly, the latter is how they like it.
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On Saturday, Palace had lower than 30% possession towards Liverpool however had virtually double the photographs heading in the right direction and that’s their DNA. Their confidence lies within the preparedness and utility versus aimlessly in search of one thing once they have the ball. Crystal Palace is probably the most assured staff within the Premier League proper now. It is aware of precisely who it’s and desires to be and that’s a attribute that may be very arduous to interrupt down.
Man United woes proceed
Two weeks in the past after the , I wrote about Man United’s ineptitude and the way the partitions had been closing for Ruben Amorim. I wasn’t the one one to say it because it was clear that the shortage of identification, the inconsistency, the poor defending — and far more — continued to floor regardless of the overwhelming quantity of participant funding positioned this previous summer time. Final weekend, the victory towards Chelsea gave the Crimson Devils a flicker of hope, maybe prompting a brand new sense of perception. However truthfully? I don’t know if it’s as a result of I’ve been writing and speaking about this membership for therefore lengthy or maybe it is the critic in me, however I simply knew that the optimism wouldn’t final.
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On Saturday, the sentiment was justified as that has but to file back-to-back league victories because the Portuguese supervisor arrived on the membership 10 months in the past. It additionally implies that beneath Amorim, United have received solely 9 out of 33 matches within the league. That’s simply unacceptable.
United, fairly merely, likes to take a step ahead proper earlier than taking two big leaps backward. And by way of Amorim, taking into account the numbers I simply shared, it’s fairly exceptional to assume he nonetheless has a job, no less than when you think about the pressure-cooker atmosphere of the Premier League and much more so when it’s Manchester United. The philosophy of his soccer isn’t solely not clicking however it’s his stubbornness that fails him to see the forest for the bushes as a result of it’s apparent that the staff isn’t geared up for what he calls for, which is a 5-2-3 of kinds, the place each participant — like a bit on a chess board — wants to stay to his position. There’s a rigidity to it. When you could have a participant like Bruno Fernandes, who’s the exact opposite of this, it’s apparent that it’s not going to work. I’m not shocked he missed his penalty towards Brentford since you might see the doubt in his thoughts. And he’s not alone.
Alongside Manuel Ugarte, the central midfield will get overpowered and due to set-piece skilled Keith Andrews, who was in control of them beneath Thomas Frank earlier than turning into Brentford supervisor, the Bees took full benefit of an insecure United with overpowering conditions in set items and transitions. United now has gone although the final eight league matches away from dwelling with no victory.
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I do not know the way lengthy Amorim has and if he’ll lose his job or if he’ll change his philosophy as a way to go well with the gamers at his disposal, however I do know the previous is extra more likely to occur than the latter.