Arsenal 2-0 Crystal Palace...Back to the Grind

 This match did not turn out to be exactly the spanking I was looking forward to.  Coming off of a loss at home in the Champions League necessitated a postiive display to restore confidence and morale.  On one hand, we obtained both.  We came away with three points, breaking away while down to ten men.  That win required resilience, determination and grit.  On the other hand, our apparent sluggishness perhaps was a warning of players needing  rest, or more worrying, not taking our competition seriously.

Crystal Palace seemed wary of us at first, staying compact in defense and looking nervous when our midfield began to attack directly.  But as time again shows in these games, the more an underdog can keep the opponent from scoring, the more their confidence grows.  By the end of the first half, Palace had three shots on target to our one.  It was one of those games where one becomes worried the Arsenal could lose one to nil.

However, the second half proved more fruitful.  Gnabry had come on as a substitute for Flamini (pulled groin?) in the 8th minute and not only provided some much needed width on the field, but earned a penalty as well.  Serge headed to the touchline with the ball looking as if he were going to attempt a cross, but cut back, causing Guedioura to upend him inside the box in the 47th minute.  Mikel took the penalty, curling it into the upper left corner.  The goalie dove the right way, but the strong shot proved out of reach.

Funny how things can turn on a dime.  One minute, Arteta is celebrating his goal, then less than 20 minutes later, he's sent off with a controversial red card.  Chamakh chested down a long ball in the 65th minute.  Arteta ran with him attempting to slow him or poke the ball away.  Their feet became entangled, they both went down, and Foy showed the red and sent Mikel off because of the last man and goal-scoring opportunity rule.  Looking at the video below, you will see that there was no foul from Arteta on Chamakh.  Chamakh pushed Arteta away which caused their feet to tangle.  Bad call.

Nail-biting stuff.  Could we hold on to a one goal lead with 20 minutes to go in the game?

Crystal Palace tested us.  Szczesny had two fine saves that kept us in the game.  This one in particular required excellent reflexes.  Thanks to those saves, Szczesny was awarded MOTM.  Someone who played excellently albeit somewhat more quietly was Bacary Sagna.  He chucked in some lovely crosses and kept the two Palace wingers in his back pocket.  When are we signing him to another contract?

Giroud's performance this game was a bit sub par in my opinion.  He still worked hard and won header after header, but his touch seemed slightly off.  Thanks to his workrate, however, he was able to get on the end of a lovely loft from Aaron Ramsey and head home the final nail in Eagles' coffin.  Having missed another header earlier, it was nice to see the technique shine in the second.  Timing his run, eye on the ball, heading it downward.  Lovely.

Some final thoughts on the match.  It seemed to me that most of our offense went down the right side.  That could be from Santi being slightly off form from his injury?  A more balanced approached needs to be found.  We were way too predictable in that respect.  Also, I found it interesting that Arsene was asked if he were surprised about how long the grass on the pitch was.  His response cracked me up.  So very Arsene.

"No we expect that everywhere we go. I will soon have a pitch at home with long grass to practice for when we play away from home."

That's all for now.  Much of the squad will get to rest for the Cup game against Chelsea on Tuesday.  I'll be back for the preview.  Oh - did I mention we are still top of the league?

Have a good one Gooners.