Arsenal climbed into third place, but were made to work hard by Crystal Palace on Saturday. Arsene Wenger’s side took an early lead thanks to Santi Cazorla’s sixth penalty of the season and just before half-time Olivier Giroud added another from close range. Alexis Sanchez had an opportunity to make it 3-0 to the Gunners, but the Chilean fluffed his lines and Palace took advantage of that and scored late on thanks to Glen Murray.
By the end, the visitors were hanging onto their lead and were lucky to come away from Selhurst Park with a win. Here are the major talking points from the game.
Arsenal almost give it away
After the game Arsene Wenger accused his side of switching off in the second half and taking their foot off the pedal. He was right and this wasn’t the first game where this has happened. Even their last league game against Leicester, when they completely dominated the first half, but let the Foxes back into the game and they almost gave away two points in the process.
That is certainly a worrying trend for Arsenal, even if they have won all but two of their games in 2015. While grinding out wins is a hallmark of a very good side, letting the other team back into the game, when you are miles ahead isn’t. Had it been for some better finishing from either of Crystal Palace or Leicester, the Gunners would have lost three consecutive league games and we would be having crisis talks about whether they can finish in the top four or not. But for now, all of that can be put aside as 24 points from a possible 27 means that they are now in third place.
Luck is on Gunners’ side
Selhurst Park is one of the noisiest grounds in the country and a win, no matter how good or bad the performance, is a sign that the away side has done a brilliant job. Although Arsenal have a brilliant record at the ground, having not lost there since 1979, there is no denying the fact that they were lucky to come away with a win. For both goals had more than a shred of doubt looming over them.
Arsenal’s first goal, which Cazorla converted from the penalty, was one of those decisions, which makes you understand just how difficult the job of a referee is. Even after so many replays, you would find it difficult to see if the contact was inside or outside the box, although Alan Pardew would argue that it was outside, you can see why the Eagles felt aggrieved at the decision. Arsenal’s second goal however, was far more straight forward, as Danny Welbeck was clearly off side and it was his shot that led to Giroud scoring his 50th goal for the Gunners. Late on, Murray hit the post for the home side and you just felt as though, given everything that went in their favor, this was just going to be Arsenal’s day.
Bolasie needs to start
When players come back from injury or from a major tournament, it usually takes them some time to get into the run of things. So when managers take their time getting them back, you can certainly understand why they do it. But when it is your best player, all of that must certainly go out of the window. Whether Pardew thought that the game against the Gunners wasn’t as important and therefore decided not to risk Yannick Bolasie, you could see the difference the winger makes.
Once he came on around the hour mark, the game completely changed on its head. Although Palace were disciplined and should certainly beat the drop, Arsenal’s biggest weakness was at full back and given how disappointing the contributions of Palace’s wingers were, it is all the more surprising that Bolasie didn’t start. Once he came on, he gave the home side a light and provided them with plenty of pace and penetration and showed just why he is the side’s best player and deserves the most number of minutes.