Kevin Whitcher
We saw the better side of Arsenal yesterday at Selhurst Park. The lacklustre display at home to West Ham remains a mystery, but at least Arsene Wenger’s team were able to put it behind them at the first opportunity. After the calamitous opening day 3-1 home defeat to Villa two seasons ago, the team won 26 of the next available 30 points. Let us hope for a similar run.
Bellerin and Alexis replaced Debuchy and the Ox in the starting eleven, and the team looked more incisive for it. All the same, it was harsh on Oxlade-Chamberlain, who, in spite of his contribution to West Ham’s winner, was the one attacking bright spot a week earlier.
The gold away kit brought back memories of 2001-02, and some of Arsenal’s build up play was as good as that season. They looked zippy and created enough good chances to have settled the game before half time. They will need to be more clinical against tougher opposition.
Giroud’s goal though, was a corker, set up by Alexis and Ozil. The Frenchman’s volley with the ball slightly behind him made his case for keeping the chequebook under wraps. Yet, against West Ham, he had a couple of chances of equal difficulty to get his team back in the game, yet was unable to convert. Whether Arsenal can afford to wait and see if he is going to become more prolific is one for debate. They certainly have the cash for an upgrade.
Palace should have been dead and buried by the time they equalized. Alexis failed to track his full back, possibly a sign of his lack of a pre-season, or more likely simply a failure to concentrate. Koscielny could have been braver in trying to block the shot. Seven year olds are coached not to turn their back on the ball.
However, the visitors were the better side and it really did feel like a matter of time before they would confirm their superiority. That was largely thanks to referee Lee Mason, who was incredibly lenient with Francis Coquelin. I think many were genuinely surprised he was able to leave the pitch as a subbed player rather than thanks to a second yellow card. It is evidence as to why Arsenal need to buy in this department, because Le Coq will miss games through suspension, it is simply a question of how many and when. He is not yet cute enough to choose his fouls.
Palace might have gone ahead early in the second half when Connor Wickham hit the post from close range. It was a real wake up call, and Arsenal responded with a well crafted goal. The Palace full back Ward resembled some of Arsenal’s worst defending when he failed to challenge properly for a header as Alexis steamed in behind him. I actually think the header might have gone wide, but it was converted into his own net by Delaney.
Arsene Wenger made defensive substitutions and the game became one of Palace pressure interspersed with Arsenal breakaways. The Gunners coped well on the defensive side of things, but really should have made the game safer on the break, given the opportunities they fashioned.
In the end, it didn’t matter and last season’s result was replicated. There were a lot of signs of encouragement, with good creative play from Cazorla, Ozil and Alexis. But at times, things look far from tight at the back. It feels like a lot of tight games may not go Arsenal’s way unless they shape up a bit in terms of discipline, focus and being clinical.
However, three points were required yesterday, and that’s what the team got, at a place where it is traditionally hard to earn them. So credit to the side for that.
I am now on Twitter@KevinWhitcher01.
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