Glasner highlights positives & lessons from defeat at Arsenal
The nature of Crystal Palace’s competitive performance in an eventual defeat to Arsenal will give crystal Palace’s players both positives to ponder, and lessons to learn, according to Oliver Glasner.
Ebere Eze’s acrobatic first-half finish proved the difference against his former club, on a day where Palace gave as good as they got against the early Premier League leaders.
Glasner told Palace TV: “I think we made two mistakes in this situation here: a silly foul, and then sleeping on the second ball. We benefitted a few times last year, and let’s say at Palace, for many years: whenever Eberechi gets a free shot inside the box, very often it's a goal.
“Today, we suffered from this situation, but in this situation it was clearly our mistake. But again, when you play a team like Arsenal, who are in fantastic shape at the moment, here at the Emirates, you can't allow this, because most parts of the game I really liked what I saw.
“The performance was good. The first-half was very, very good. For 15-20 minutes we were struggling, but at the end I really loved the effort towards getting an equaliser. Overall, the performance was good in many parts of the game.
“But we have to accept at the moment that maybe Arsenal were one level higher in a few situations. The players were very disappointed in the dressing room, and I spoke to them. Just before we arrived [in February 2024], Palace lost 5-0 here, and now, it was a very tight game and we could have got the equaliser at the end.
“We are disappointed – I love this. This is the development, this is the progress, this is the ambition we all have. I think that's why we are where we are now.”
I know this group of players, they're always listening, and then we will go the next step
—Oliver Glasner
Palace’s high press was particularly effective in the first-half at the Emirates, with plenty of early attacks down the right-hand side leading to promising half-chances.
Glasner noted: “I think we could have created more chances with the way we played, it just took us a little bit too long in a few times and they [Arsenal] are working so hard to recover.
“I'm just mentioning Ismaïla Sarr – we found him great two or three times in the second-half, and Declan Rice stole the ball, but he had four or five yards advantage. This is what we have to improve in these situations: to keep the pace of the attack high if you play teams like Arsenal.
“We will show the players – we will not really have time to train it – but we will show them. I know this group of players, they're always listening, and then we will go the next step.”
A trip to Anfield and Liverpool in the Carabao Cup is up next, but Glasner was left encouraged by the nature of recent performances: “We’ve lost three of the last four games, but when I watch the performances, I think they’re maybe better than at the beginning of the season, where we drew or won games.
“It’s now about staying calm, analysing and supporting the players. I see that our defensive shape works really well, our structure to create situations works really well. We created more set-plays I think than they had, or let's say the same amount – and then also, [it’s about] scoring from these situations.
“When you play the top teams of the world, let's say, you don't get a lot, and whatever you get, you have to take if you want to win. Let's say we were that clinical in the FA Cup final against City. Today we were not, and that's why we lost.”