Arsène Wenger bristled at the mere mention of Andy Carroll. The question flung his way had been a precursor to a series on the threat Crystal Palace, and Emmanuel Adebayor in particular, might pose a bruised back-line at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday, but this was a manager still seething from the events of a week ago. Adebayor would have to wait.
“That Carroll stays on the pitch is absolutely scandalous,” he said of the man whose hat-trick at Upton Park, in last Saturday’s share of six goals, had left Arsenal’s defence feeling diminished. “The first foul [early on Laurent Koscielny] was a straight red. Watch it 10 times: it’s unbelievable he stays on the pitch, but nobody speaks about that. In the second half he makes three fouls without getting a second yellow. If you’re allowed absolutely everything on the football pitch, it’s easy to be physical because you’re not punished.”
The conversation eventually drifted on to tackling and the Frenchman’s perception that challenges from behind are increasingly tolerated whereas observers now find “face-to-face fouls horrendous”, but the issue of a soft underbelly had long since been exposed. Wenger is still to decide whether Per Mertesacker returns to his starting lineup, the manager still weighing up what poses the greater risk: Adebayor in the air, or the prospect of Yannick Bolasie or Wilfried Zaha running at his veteran centre-half.
The likelihood is that Gabriel Paulista will retain his place, albeit with Petr Cech restored between the posts, as Arsenal seek to edge closer to Tottenham Hotspur. The manager is demanding a pristine run-in to a season already tinged with anticlimax. The prospect of Adebayor, three years an Arsenal player but long since established as the villain in those parts, enjoying his latest return to the Emirates Stadium is too much to contemplate.
The Togolese has never really enjoyed his returns. There have been five while in the colours of Manchester City and Spurs, the most productive of which was arguably the 37 minutes played as a City substitute replacing Patrick Vieira in a goalless draw five years ago. He has been booked and beaten with Tottenham, has scored to put his side 2-0 up only for the team to subside 5-2 and, in November 2012, plundered the opener only to lose his head and see red after 18 minutes as the scorn poured down from the stands. His team shipped five that day, too.
The 32-year-old is not the player he was and was rusty in guiding three presentable scoring opportunities wide in midweek against Everton, but will probably make his first start in a month on Sunday given Connor Wickham’s lack of match fitness and the buttock injury that rules out Dwight Gayle.
“We will put pressure on their centre-halves every opportunity we have,” said Alan Pardew. “It’s well documented that their set-piece record isn’t great defensively, and that we are the best, so they are going to have to defend at least on four five occasions against the best team in the Premier League at set-plays. So that’s where we can really test them.”
Yet, while Palace have accrued more points in the last three games than they had in the previous 13, the confidence should remain firmly with the hosts. Arsenal have lost only once to these opponents since 1979 and have won their previous six meetings, with this an opportunity to build up some late-season momentum.
“I’ve told my players our responsibility, our challenge, is to fight in every match until the last minute of the season,” said Wenger. “We have to rectify the fact we conceded at West Ham and come back to being strong defensively.” And had they been working on anything in particular in training in the wake of their brush with Carroll? “Heading the ball.” That rather said it all.
