A contentious penalty and a tight offside call both went Arsenal’s way as they defeated a resilient Crystal Palace who scored late on to set up a nervy affair. Arsenal came right off the blocks and won an early penalty thanks to Danny Welbeck although the Palace bench felt the foul was just outside the box, Santi Cazorla made no mistake though.
Olivier Giroud then scored Arsenal’s second in the 45th minute to give the Gunners a 2-0 lead at half time. Crystal Palace came back in the second half, but it was not enough.
A tough victory was achieved and we look at the player ratings for the Gunners.
David Ospina: 6/10
Didn’t have much to do throughout the game, the Colombian could not do much to stop the Palace goal, but looked alright for most of the game.
Calum Chambers: 6/10
Did pretty well as the right back against a physical and tough Crystal Palace team, he still has time to become better but seems to be heading in the right direction.
Per Mertesacker: 7/10
Per was rock solid in defence today, he might not be the fastest defender in the game, but his vision and positioning kept Palace out for most of the game.
Laurent Koscielny: 7/10
Again, his and Per’s partnership could be one of the best in the country, the pair did have to deal with some pressure in the second half but did pretty well.
Nacho Monreal: 7/10
Taking on Zaha in any game is not easy, but the Spaniard held his ground and kept the winger quiet throughout the game.
Francis Coquelin: 6/10
Booked early in the game had an impact on the young midfielder’s game today, he was alright but he could have done more in keeping the Palace attack quiet.
Santi Cazorla: 8/10
Scored an early penalty which set the game up for Arsenal, Cazorla is growing more and more important for Arsenal and this performance shows why.
Mesut Ozil: 6/10
Not the greatest performance by the German, he drifted in and out of the game and Arsenal should be hoping for better from the attacker.
Danny Welbeck: 7/10
Linked up well with Giroud to cause Palace problems, Danny finally showed just what he can do for Arsenal and will be hoping for more performances like this.
Alexis Sanchez: 6/10
Sanchez wasn’t at his best today; he still tried his best and could have had a goal but missed out on scoring.
Olivier Giroud: 8/10
The Frenchman keeps on scoring with his 50th goal for Arsenal, it was his 5th goal in the last 7 games and he looks up to score a few more.
Substitutes:
Tomas Rosicky: 6/10
Brought on late in the 2nd half to replace Ozil, Rosicky was good in the few minutes he was brought on for.
Kieran Gibbs: 6/10
Was deployed in a more attacking role in the 2nd half, he looked alright but would be more comfortable in a defensive role.
Gabriel Paulista: NA
Brought on in the 89th minute to give Arsenal more cover but did not have enough time to make a real impact.