Arsenal, having already lost one game to a city rival, West Ham last weekend wanted to avoid another slip as they travelled to take on Crystal Palace. Palace looked in great touch as they had started the Premier League campaign with a win and were looking to get one over their more illustrious rivals. The game started with a bang as both teams tried to assert themselves, Arsenal were attacking constantly while Palace were more than happy to hit them on the break.
The deadlock was broken in the first half when Mesut Ozil whizzed in a cross which was acrobatically turned in by Olivier Giroud. The lead did not last long though as Joel Ward scored a sumptuous goal just outside the box to level the scores. It took a bit of luck for Arsenal to get the lead as Alexis Sanchez headed the ball but the final touch game off a Palace defender and Arsenal held onto the win, just about.
Arsenal might not have looked at their best but there were many talking points from an excellent attack filled game, we point out a few things from this London derby.
Cech doesn’t look like the real deal
Arsenal conceded 3 goals from 6 shots in the last two games, that is a damning stat for any team, let alone one which is expected to challenge for the title. Petr Cech was seen as the saviour to all of Arsenal’s defensive problems but truth be told, he does not look the invincible Cech we had seen in the Blue of Chelsea. This time again, he was beaten by a well-placed shot but he could and should have done better to keep it out. Cech needs to spend more time in training to understand how his central defenders play, as he seemed to be unsighted for the goal scored by Ward.
Sanchez saves Arsenal, again
What Sanchez did last season, he seems to be doing it again. The Chilean looked like a player on a mission to get Arsenal the three points, he was a thorn all afternoon for Crystal Palace and duly played a role for the winning goal that gave Arsenal the victory. The big question remains, how many times will he bail Arsenal out this season?
Coquelin was lucky to stay on the pitch
One major talking point was the referee not sending off Coquelin when he already was booked and made two cynical challenges which should have seen him get a second yellow. Alan Pardew must feel hard-done by the referee’s decision as Palace could have had a better chance of defeating the Gunners, had Arsenal been reduced to 10. The more infuriating thing that stands out is that Daryl Janmaat was sent off for two similar offences yesterday but nothing was done about that tonight. Consistency in decision making has to be there.
Palace look set to have another great season
Crystal Palace have come a long way, they don’t play like a Championship side anymore and look set to have another brilliant season in the Premier League. There really wasn’t much to differentiate the two teams in the first half and with wingers like Zaha and Bolasie, Palace are set to make life tough for a lot of clubs that visit them. Alan Pardew deserves credit but just how high can he take them this season?
Arsenal need to be clinical
Arsenal, at one stage in the Wenger era were tearing teams apart, now they seem a little hesitant to do the scoring, that could be due to the fact that they are so heavily reliant on Alexis Sanchez but they need to be more clinical in front of goal. The requirement to score the perfect goal seems to be back for Arsenal and until they can get that out of their head and shoot before they get closed down, they might never be close enough to get that Premier League crown back.