JazzG They've taken points off Chelsea, Liverpool, Bournemouth and Villa this season and they've played us. That is a hard set of fixtures to open the season and they're 3 points off European places. We can dismiss Palace if we like but all the stats and facts point to them being a very good side.
We've had a hard set of fixtures to open with and sit at the top of the league several points ahead of our expected rivals, and with a couple of surprise packages right behind us. Choose whatever facts you like, we're aiming to win the league and Palace are a mid-table team. A good midtable team, a potentially dangerous midtable team, but a midtable team all the same. I'm not wanting to be down on Palace, but I take issue with the suggestion that we are somehow to have been in fear of them or that we should consider ourselves lucky to have beaten them 1-0 at home.
They did, and have been doing, well. We did well to beat them particularly after a tiring CL game, and carrying several injuries. But we're better, and at the same time as acknowledging an important win, we're allowed to express frustration at what is clearly an imbalance in how we attack. I said previously, I'm not taking issue with this game, it was a good win and I'm not arguing otherwise, but it's representative of a wider issue.
JazzG As Burns mentioned, we have a lot of injuries and players in this game clearly weren't 100%. I'm not going to worry about our style of play right now. We've won plenty of heart and minds in the past with our attacking play, I need a trophy and we need to be 100% laser focussed on that alone.
I share your hope that we'll improve as the season goes on; I have to be optimistic that will happen. My concerns are not about your belief though, it's about Arteta's. He needs to be proactive with this and not hope or think it will happen. The issue with set play v open play goals is not a new one. We were (over) reliant on set pieces at points last year and they dried up*, and the reliance has extended this year. It's not a phase or a fad; at this point it's an approach. I think it's all very well and good to have that approach but I don't think it is sufficient or sustainable in go through a season, let alone with the league, and have 69% of your goals come from set pieces. 16 goals is quite poor at this point in the season and in seasons gone by the top teams are generally at least 20-25 goals, sometimes more, by matchday 9. We've offset that by having a monstrous defence, but the goals need to come and from open play.
This isn't about hearts and minds of the neutrals and talk of being laser focused on winning a trophy. Winning the trophy is absolutely contingent in getting the balance right and getting the team scoring. Overcoming injuries, getting Gyokeres firing, establishing a creative hub somewhere in the team, letting new players acclimatise - I don't care what it is but Arteta needs to fix one or all of them to get things unblocked.
a* Am I right in remembering it that way? We had a strong start with set pieces but it tailed off a bit as the season went on?
