Well, happy Monday to you!
Starting a little 10-day break from the Premier League is always nice after delivering a walloping. Liverpool, who dished out another xG-defying win against a decent Bournemouth, played three games to our one before they meet us. It might not make a difference now, but I can’t imagine fighting on all four fronts is going to do them any favours in the long run. They can’t even flop out of the FA Cup because they play Norwich. They’ll beat Fulham and get to a cup final that’ll come in the February crunch and move Premier League games to later in the season.
Arsenal have a much simpler two months coming up. The big question is whether Arteta can learn the painful lessons of seasons’ past. Will he get too excited, lose track of the bigger picture, and blitz the same 13 players until they break" Or will we see more intention when it comes to rotating his faves so they are fresher when it matters" The Palace game looked like a new Arteta. I know we were winning handsomely, but when has that stopped him from giving full 90s to everyone" This is a guy who took a full squad to PSV for no real reason other than winnertivity and macho vibes.
There are some key players that’ll be crucial – the first is Zinchenko, who has had an up-and-down season in the eyes of the fans. He was fantastic at the weekend, we saw exactly what we miss when he’s not in the side. Bravery, verticality, and ambition. We ...