The Gunners’ next two matches, starting with the trip to Red Lantern Norwich, may allow them to consolidate their place in the Top 4.
As Boxing Day begins, Arsenal can offer themselves a nice Christmas present by consolidating their place in the Big Four of the Premier League. A nice gift also for his trainer Mikel Arteta, who has just celebrated his two years at the head of the first team, which travels to Norwich this Sunday on the occasion of the kick-off of Boxing Day (4 p.m.). A trip like a formality at the red lantern?
«I think they deserve more than what they get now, I noticed Arteta. We are expecting a very complicated match, especially as the public will be hot, as it does every Boxing Day.A way like any other to shift the pressure for the Spanish manager, who knows that his team, not always flamboyant outside its bases (9th away team), can quickly fall back into its failings at the start of the season. But faced with a team without a win for a month, the opportunity is too good not to sign a fifth victory in a row, the fourth in the Premier League.
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Lacazette, symbol of a team pulling in the same direction
Success would allow Londoners (4th) to keep at least four points ahead of neighbors West Ham, who will at the same time receive modest Southampton (15th). A brilliant return to the foreground motivated by a clever mix between a young prolific guard (52% of the Gunners’ goals were scored by players under 21) and experienced players in tune. The Lacazette-Martinelli duo is a powerful symbol of this. Double scorer in Leeds, during Arsenal’s last trip (4-1), the 20-year-old Brazilian shines since the return to grace of Lacazette, whose participation in the game offers Martinelli the opportunity to gain depth.
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In the defensive phase, Martinelli like the other members of the attack increased their efforts tenfold, thus taking the example of the former Lyonnais, new captain since the sidelining of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang for disciplinary reasons. “This debauchery of energy is all I ask of them, welcomed Arteta in mid-December after the convincing success against West Ham (2-0). These players are able to play the way I ask. This makes the whole process easier, from recovery to ball possession, all with the right mix of pace and intensity.»
Wolves will have the advantage of the freshness on Tuesday
An intensity that will nevertheless be difficult to keep up with the demanding Boxing Day program. At the center of questions at a time when the players are supposed to perform three times in a week, Arteta engaged behind Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson, who estimated on the BBC that “player health was not taken seriously enough». «It’s important to listen to them because football wouldn’t exist without them, remarked the Spaniard. It’s easy to always ask them for more matches and repeat the efforts, but they are the ones who play. If they say it’s hard, it’s reality. (…) Not being attentive to their request risks damaging our product.»
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But almost as if nothing had happened, the Premier League kept their holiday feast going through thick and thin, no matter what. Well almost, since three matches are postponed this Sunday, including a Wolverhampton-Watford which particularly interests the Gunners, who will host the Wolves from Tuesday at 1:30 p.m. An almost surreal schedule for the Londoners, who will therefore have benefited from less than 48 hours of rest against… nine days for the Wolves, who were also not engaged in the League Cup in midweek.
The freshness advantage will inevitably lean in favor of the visitors, who will thus try to make a nice blow to the best team of the kingdom at home (22 pts, tied with Manchester City). But the opportunity is too good for Arsenal to secure their place in the top 4 before receiving ogre City on January 1. It is therefore during the first half of Boxing Day that the Gunners have the opportunity to capitalize, especially since at the end of the season, a first qualification in the Champions League for five years seems really possible.
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