Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner has been studying Arsenal ahead of his side’s double-header against the Gunners.
It’s not often that two English sides face each other twice in four days, but Arsenal and Crystal Palace are ready to battle it out – first in the EFL Cup and then in the Premier League.
Glasner has been trying to come up with a game plan to get the better of the Gunners, and he has watched all of their recent games.
The Austrian has now revealed what he has noticed about Mikel Arteta’s side.
Oliver Glasner namechecks Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard while talking about Arsenal’s form
Arsenal haven’t had the greatest season.
The Gunners have dropped points in eight of their first 16 Premier League games. They have also failed to win two of their six Champions League fixtures this season.
The draws against Everton and Fulham in their last two league games have been painful for the fans, but Glasner still thinks Arsenal’s recent form has been really good.
The Eagles boss has claimed that Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka are the reason why Arsenal have got ‘better and better’ recently.
He said, as per Crystal Palace’s official website: “They’re playing really well, they struggled a little bit several weeks ago but now they have injured players coming back, especially Odegaard and Saka, their form got better and better, although maybe the last two results don’t show this.
“But I also watched the Champions League game against Monaco, and Monaco is a very good squad but they had no chance there.
“So we have to focus on us, if we show our best performance then it’s possible, if we don’t perform on our best level, we have no chance to win.”
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One Arsenal player is receiving serious criticism
Arsenal should’ve won the games against both Fulham and Everton – they dominated both fixtures and definitely deserved to pick up all three points.
However, the draws have resulted in many Arsenal players coming under criticism for their performances, including skipper Odegaard.
The Norwegian didn’t have his best game against the Toffees – he was taken off after 62 minutes. He could’ve scored a couple of goals to break the deadlock but failed to do so.
However, against Fulham, Odegaard created three chances, which his teammates couldn’t convert (Sofascore).
Some of the criticism of Odegaard is perhaps warranted, but there have been calls from some sections of the fan base to get rid of him.
We think that is ridiculous – we all saw how clueless Arsenal looked when he was out injured earlier this season.
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