Phew. Ain't gonna lie, we're glad that match is over.

​

Palace, as forewarned in our preview, came as advertised and proved to be an extremely difficult nut to crack. If you follow us on Twitter/X (if not, why not?), you would have seen us after the game, compare them to that one boxer who gets avoided by all the big boys until mandatory defence time, because they know what an awkward night's work lies ahead. That's Palace in a nutshell—the team nobody wants to play.

​

Sometimes you have to credit the opponent. They are an extremely well-drilled, compact defensive unit, with Saka in particular being surrounded whenever he received possession. They then have players in the forward areas capable of causing real damage on the break. It was us who ended up changing to five at the back to see out the 1-0 victory. Our South London rivals will give plenty of teams fits this season, mark our words. They are a good bet to finish in one of the Euro places for sure.

 

In years gone by, when we were a goal up, it was all palm-wringing with sweat running down the small of your back, with much grimacing. Not this season, though. Similar to previous weeks, we never felt in any danger or as if we were grimly hanging on. We had one shot on target against us, and there is some confusion about when that actually occurred. A few headed clearances here and there, but Raya never had a save to make. We have the best back five arguably in world football, and they are carrying the team so far this season.

​

Our Redemption Tour sees no sign of stopping. The games we dropped points in last season— Newcastle away—Avenged. West Ham Home - Avenged, Fulham away - Avenged, Palace at Home Avenged. Then you add Olympiacos and Atleti in Europe, two teams responsible for tough Euro exits, and we are righting the wrongs of seasons gone by. In the league, especially, it seems that lessons have been learned from last year.

 

There was a fair bit of online chat after the game about the performance and the manner of the victory (again), so let's break it all down. We haven't done a Sanity Spin/Dissatisfied Debate for a hot minute, so thought it was time to bring it out and dust it off.

 

SANITY SPIN

 

1. Palace was an extremely difficult opponent, and we got the three points, job done. That's really all that matters. Especially more so in the context of the weekend with Liverpool (again), Chelsea (are they even considered contenders?) and City all losing. Remember, winning ugly is still winning. You don't get any extra points for style. Speaking of style, or lack of, have you seen that god awful City away kit? The grey with green fluorescence? Absolute vomit material. Thank god we binned Puma off. Those amateurs couldn't even make jerseys that fit, never mind design top-end ones.

​

2. Set Piece FC came through for us again. Another set piece goal was the difference between drawing and winning. If we are the best at something, why not use it to its fullest potential? It's up to the rest of the league to stop it. We'd much rather score from a free kick and win the game than not and drop two points. It's basic logic, no? Do we really, honestly care how games are won? Chelsea have two fewer set-piece goals than us this season. We bet they would trade being two ahead and be top of the league in a heartbeat. Haters gonna hate. The teams that are crying the most tend to be the teams that are shit at them.

 

We haven't won the league since 2003/2004. Are we really picky/fussy about how we do it? You don't think that, if we reel off another 29 similar wins, the majority of Arsenal fans would really give two shits? We here at Arsenal Legion certainly wouldn't. We have no right to be choosy about the style in which titles are won.

​

3. We are top of the league through grit, set pieces and defensive mastery. Grinding out tough wins isn't a sign of weakness. We see people like Paddy Power giving us a hard time saying "Arsenal will be the most boring team ever to win the league". It blows our mind. Like a commitment to defending our goal, as if our lives depended on it, is now a form of criticism. Like our grit and sheer determination to win football matches is a detriment.

 

Funny how whenever Liverpool or City squeak out a 1-0 win or hang on for a slender victory, it's seen as "Champion Material" and "Winnertivity" and all that other bollocks. We are comfortable in low-scoring games. We are confident that our back five is so exceptional that most times, one or two goals will be enough. We are The Arsenal. One of our most famous chants is "One-Nil to the Arsenal". Winning on strong defensive displays isn't new to us. It's in our DNA. 

 

Okay, now for the other side of the argument.

​

DISSATISFIED DEBATE

​

1. Our performances aren't exactly blowing teams away. We are more scraping results. Since the return from the interlull, in the league, we've won 1-0 away at Fulham and 1-0 at home to Palace. Both with goals from set-pieces. Our levels are going to have to tick up a couple of notches for sure. Yes, Palace are a good, awkward side, but we shouldn't be hanging on playing five at the back against a team that, let's not forget,  had two days less rest than us and were winless in their last three games.

 

2. There are shades of last season when the goals from open play dried up and we were over-reliant on set plays rather than them being a welcome bonus. When Saka, or Rice, the main delivery takers or Gabriel, the main target, weren't in the lineup, our set-piece output fell off a cliff. Our inability to score regularly from open play was the main reason we drew so many games and ultimately lost the league. Some supporters are drawing parallels in that regard between last season and this. Much like our performances in general, our goals output from open play HAS to improve. Being overly reliant on set pieces makes us predictable and vulnerable.

 

3. We are winning a lot of close games, and no matter how comfortable we think we are in them, all it takes is one lapse in concentration, one individual error, or one referee to remember where his allegiance lies.  Before you know it, three points turn into one or one into none. Winning close games generally means you are on the right side of fine margins. Much like winning by set-piece goals alone, it's a high-risk strategy that isn't sustainable over the course of a season without Liverpool levels of fortune.

​

To all you new readers of the blog, we'd like to say again that we aren't on either side. We are like reporters who present both sides of what our fanbase is thinking, and trust you to be grown-up enough to decide for yourselves where you plant your flag.

 

Time now for our MOTM and honourable mentions. 

​

First honourable mention goes to Eze. We think he's been pretty quiet since filling in for Odegaard. We also thought he was pretty quiet again at the weekend, but he did, with the help of the law of the ex (how often does that happen?), score the decisive goal against his former employers.

 

Eerily similar to the one he scored AGAINST us last season, he made an extremely difficult scissor kick style finish look fairly routine, and it ended up being the difference. We did call it in our preview. When talking about EE, we said, "We expect him to start and have a major influence on the outcome," and he did just that.

​

We don't usually do mentions for someone who doesn't play the whole game, but next up is a guy who played only 45 minutes — Mosquera. On at the start of the second half for the injured Saliba, the greatest compliment we can give him was that there was no discernible drop off. Mateta is a fearsome opponent, but our young Spaniard glided his way effortlessly through the half. We've said it before, and we'll say it again. For £13m, he was the signing of the summer, and it's not even close.

​

Next up is an honourable-mention favourite: Timber. He dropped yet another 7/8 out of 10. Not only is he like a dog with a bone in defensive duels, but some of his skills for a full back are beyond outrageous. He is physically incapable of having a boring game. We initially thought he might have just shaded MOTM, but upon reflection, we gave it to this guy...