From Wilfried Zaha to Jeff Hendrick, Jordan Henderson and Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Arsenal’s opener against Crystal Palace has joined some exalted companyArsenal striker Olivier Giroud staked his claim for the goal-of-the-season award with a glorious scorpion-kick finish against Crystal Palace. The Frenchman became the talk of the town when he reached behind him with his left boot to flick Alexis Sánchez’s cross in off the crossbar to give the Gunners a 17th-minute lead. Here are some of his rivals for best league goal this season. Related: Jordan Henderson’s sumptuous strike helps Liverpool to win at Chelsea Continue reading...
The Arsenal striker’s acrobatic opening goal against Crystal Palace will live long in the memory and is likely to be the highlight of his careerOn a sodden, cold and otherwise underpowered afternoon at the Emirates Stadium Olivier Giroud provided an unforgettable moment of illumination. The Frenchman has found himself down the pecking order in recent months, demoted to second choice as collateral damage to Alexis Sánchez’s reinvention as a spiky central striker. One thing does seem certain, though. Whatever direction Giroud’s strangely divisive five-year Arsenal career takes from here, however the club’s hotly-contested modern history ends up remembering him, he is unlikely to have a better moment, in isolation, than the opening goal here. Olivier, old boy, we’ll always have...
Palace have taken drastic action to ensure they stay in the Premier League but the man they have lined up to replace Alan Pardew brings a history of suspicionSurvival in the Premier League is everything but even though he undoubtedly represents the best chance of Crystal Palace extending their stay in England’s top flight for a fifth successive season, the impending appointment of Sam Allardyce to replace Alan Pardew at Selhurst Park is one that will fill many supporters with dread.It is less than three months since Allardyce was ousted as the England manager before he had even named his second squad as the result of the Daily Telegraph sting that showed him negotiating a fee of £400,000 to represent...
Allardyce has never been relegated from the top flight in his managerial career, which makes him a natural choice to succeed Alan Pardew at Crystal PalaceThere will be no need for a public outcry should Sam Allardyce, as is widely anticipated, return to management with Crystal Palace before the year is out. The same year when his long-held ambition of becoming England manager was realised and then curtailed a mere 67 days later, the shortest reign of any permanent Football Association appointment, after being in charge for a single game. Allardyce is simply too capable an operator to stay out on the sidelines for long.That was what earned him a crack at the England job in the first place and...
Claude Puel’s rotation proves a winner, opportunity finally knocks for Michy Batshuayi, and Mesut Özil’s invisibility at City should worry Arsène Wenger Related: The Dozen: the weekend's best Premier League photos Related: Premier League 2015-16 fans’ verdicts part one: Arsenal to Manchester United Related: Premier League fans’ half-time verdict part 2: Manchester United to West Ham Continue reading...