3 positives & negatives from 1-0 Crystal Palace victory

Speaking after the match, Mikel Arteta, whilst keen to praise our defensive solidity, also stressed the importance for us to score more goals.</p> <blockquote><p>&#8220;We have to put the ball in the net more often, especially with the dominance we are having in games. But that&rsquo;s the most difficult thing in football, so if you don&rsquo;t do that, you have to do the other part, which is be extremely solid. We were last week and we were again today with the chances we conceded. Let&rsquo;s keep playing better and evolving.&#8221;</p></blockquote> <p>Our three goals this season have come from individual moments of brilliance and, against Palace, a penalty kick conversion. Perhaps this can be attributed to the fact that we have played just two games and are still finding our rhythm. However, the longer this issue persists, the more likely teams are to set up in this manner against us.</p> <p><em>Continued on the next slide&#8230;</em></p> <div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #c01f2f" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/08/23/3-positives-negatives-from-1-0-crystal-palace-victory/3/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span>&nbsp;#2 positive and negative </a> </div><!—pageview_candidate—><hr id="pagebreak"><div id="attachment_136001" class="wp-caption alignnone"> <img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-136001" src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/08/23/3-positives-negatives-from-1-0-crystal-palace-victory/3/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_1706,w_2560/https%3A%2F%2Fpaininthearsenal.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2017%2F07%2F1630117967-1-scaled.jpeg" alt="" width="2560" height="1706" srcset="https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1630117967-1-scaled.jpeg 2560w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1630117967-1-768x512.jpeg 768w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1630117967-1-1536x1024.jpeg 1536w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1630117967-1-2048x1365.jpeg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px"><p class="wp-caption-text">Declan Rice was excellent at Selhurst Park. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)</p> </div> <h2>Positive #2: Declan Rice</h2> <p>Summer signing Declan Rice was another positive from the night, with his dominant display in the middle of the park a huge reason why Arsenal were able to secure the three points.</p> <p>Much has been made of his price tag, but displays of this nature will surely put those discussions to bed very quickly. He was solid in defence, effective at breaking up play and preventing counter-attacks, and was also a useful outlet in attack when needed.</p> <p>At just 24 years of age, Rice is already one of our most important players despite signing merely months ago, and will only develop even further as he grows into Arteta’s style of play.</p> <h2>Negative #2: Kai Havertz</h2> <p>However, I, unfortunately, cannot say the same about <a title="Arsenal already have a Kai Havertz problem" href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/08/23/3-positives-negatives-from-1-0-crystal-palace-victory/3/"https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/08/22/arsenal-already-have-kai-havertz-problem/" rel="">fellow summer arrival Kai Havertz</a>. It may be early in the season and therefore judging him so quickly may be considered incredibly harsh, but I cannot help but think that the money we spent on the Garman international could have been spent far more effectively.</p> <p>Against both Forest and Crystal Palace, the game has passed the 24-year-old by, and he has failed to make any contribution of note in either fixture. He has demonstrated his talent in very short glimpses, but, based on what I have seen so far, I cannot help but feel we massively overpaid for his services.</p> <p>He improves the strength of our squad, which is undeniable, but when players such as James Maddison, who has so far shone for the team that shall not be named, were on the market for less money, I am not sure signing Havertz was our best option.</p> <p><em>Continued on the next slide…</em></p> <div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #c01f2f" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/08/23/3-positives-negatives-from-1-0-crystal-palace-victory/3/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> #3 positive and negative </a> </div><!—pageview_candidate—><hr id="pagebreak"><div id="attachment_136000" class="wp-caption alignnone"> <img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-136000" src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/08/23/3-positives-negatives-from-1-0-crystal-palace-victory/3/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_1706,w_2560/https%3A%2F%2Fpaininthearsenal.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2017%2F07%2F1630106153-scaled.jpeg" alt="" width="2560" height="1706" srcset="https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1630106153-scaled.jpeg 2560w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1630106153-768x512.jpeg 768w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1630106153-1536x1024.jpeg 1536w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1630106153-2048x1365.jpeg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px"><p class="wp-caption-text">Mikel Arteta’s side had to work hard for three points on Monday night. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)</p> </div> <h2>Positive #3: Winning ugly</h2> <p>As we have all heard far too many times, teams that win silverware possess the ability to win ugly. Grinding out victories when you’re playing poorly, or overcoming adversity, are both signs of champions, and we demonstrated both against Palace.</p> <p>Of course, we would all rather win 5-0 every game, but that is not realistic, and there will always be matches in which the team is made to work for the three points. A 1-0 victory away from home is never a bad thing, and helps to build some much-needed momentum for the rest of the campaign.</p> <h2>Negative #3: Takehiro Tomiyasu red card</h2> <p>First of all, I want to be clear that the biggest negative of this situation was the officiating. Many fans would agree that neither of Tomiyasu’s two transgressions were deserving of a cumulative sending-off.</p> <p>However, the 24-year-old must take a portion of the blame for providing the referee with a decision to make in the first place. His first yellow for timewasting is harsh, yet ultimately should be accepted given the new rules put in place, and once he receives that card, misreading the fight of a ball and then tugging on a shirt, however softly, is naive.</p> <div class="embed "> <blockquote class="wp-embedded-content" data-secret="p8babBTV3E"><p><a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/08/23/3-positives-negatives-from-1-0-crystal-palace-victory/3/"https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/08/21/crystal-palace-0-1-arsenal-player-ratings/">Crystal Palace 0-1 Arsenal: Player ratings as 10-man Gunners hold on</a></p></blockquote> <p><iframe class="wp-embedded-content" sandbox="allow-scripts" security="restricted" style="position: absolute; clip: rect(1px, 1px, 1px, 1px);" title="“Crystal Palace 0-1 Arsenal: Player ratings as 10-man Gunners hold on” — Pain in the Arsenal" src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/08/23/3-positives-negatives-from-1-0-crystal-palace-victory/3/"https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/08/21/crystal-palace-0-1-arsenal-player-ratings/embed/#?secret=DNGDRX2aGm#?secret=p8babBTV3E" data-secret="p8babBTV3E" width="500" height="282" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no"></iframe></p></div> <p>He should not have been sent off, but Tomiyasu only has himself to blame for his dismissal.</p><!—pageview_candidate—>">