“Arteta should stop crying and he should be thankful to have the 4 of them”- Crystal Palace Boss Oliver Glasner singles out four ‘fantastic’ Arsenal players for praise after EFL Cup clash- Not Saka, Ødegaard or Jesus
“Arteta should stop crying and he should be thankful to have the 4 of them”- Crystal Palace Boss Oliver Glasner singles out four ‘fantastic’ Arsenal players for praise after EFL Cup clash- Not Saka, Ødegaard or Jesus.
In the end, Mikel Arteta and Oliver Glasner had to ponder whether Arsenal would substantially shuffle their pack as they hosted Crystal Palace in the backdrop of EFL Cup quarter-final action.
In Glasner’s case, well, not much.
It was pretty much a full strength team at the Emirates from a Palace outfit determined to give themselves a chance of securing a semi-final berth. Only Crystal Palace right-back Daniel Munoz was missing against Arsenal due to suspension, with 18-year old Caleb Kporha the only unfamiliar name in Glasner’s XI.
Arsenal, in contrast, made eight changes from Saturday’s goalless draw at Everton.
And while Arteta would find himself beaming the Bat Signal for Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka – The Gunners’ biggest names stepping off the bench at 1-0 down and changing the game in the home side’s favour – there were rare starts for the likes of Ethan Nwaneri, Kieran Tierney, Raheem Sterling and Gabriel Jesus on Wednesday night.
Leandro Trossard and Mikel Merino – both of these frankly squad players moved to North London for an initial combined fee of £47 million – also figure in it from the start.
And, of course, for Glasner, it is an exceptionally good thing for the Emirates side to be able to make eight changes, yet still bring in someone like Sterling or even Gabriel Jesus.
Crystal Palace boss highlights Arsenal strength as Gabriel Jesus hits hat-trick: “We know they have a great squad,” Glasner told reporters at full-time. “Otherwise, it’s not possible to play for the Premier League. Last year, I think they were two points behind [Manchester] City.
“Also, when you see the attacking players today-they Trossard, Jesus and Sterling, fantastic, Merino-everybody I think was bought for 40, 50, 60 million!”
At the moment, Glasner is not even close to hitting the bull’s eye. From the four players he has mentioned, only, Gabriel Jesus, who has formerly played for Man City, has cost Arsenal in excess of £40 million.
Sterling, on loan from Chelsea. Then, we had Trossard, who cost £20m as his initial fee. Merino, on the other hand, returned for £27m after that one-time Newcastle United youngster had a second stab at English football.
But, according to Glasner, there are many quality players available in various positions, hence, no mystery, when it comes to Arsenal’s achievements regarding Manchester City in the recent seasons: “They have this quality in the squad, and that’s why they can compete for the Premier League and the Champions League. This is their objective,” said the ex-Eintracht Frankfurt coach, with Palace now slated for a rematch against Arsenal at the Premier League on Saturday night.
“We have different circumstances but we will do our best. We will analyse this game, learn from it, and try to beat them un three days. It’s not easy but we will try definitely.”
Mikel Arteta lauds Gabriel Jesus after EFL Cup heroics. Gabriel Jesus scored a stunning second-half half-treble, bringing Arsenal back from an early Jean-Philippe Mateta opener. The Brazil international’s equaliser-a chip shot over a brilliant Dean Henderson-was his first goal at the Emirates in over a year.
As Arsenal icon Alan Smith quipped on co-commentary duty for Sky Sports, you wait all year for a London bus and three come along at once.
“It’s a big night for Gabby,” Arteta grinned, when asked to comment on the match-up. “It’s a big night for a player that constantly tries and is not someone that is going to keep anything for himself. He tries to give his best to the team.
“He created three brilliant moments that contributed to winning the match. And, for someone like Kieran, or Raz [Sterling], who hasn’t played a lot of minutes, hopefully they will feel important and that they can contribute in the right way to the team.
“It’s a lovely evening.”
