Arsenal made a fast start against Patrick Vieira’s Crystal Palace on Monday night. They got their reward in the 8th minute when Aubameyang followed up well on a Nicolas Pepe saved effort.
For the rest of the second period, Palace took more control of the ball, with Arsenal’s tempo and excitement easing off after going ahead. A dangerous move from Arteta.
And it didn’t pay off. The second half was a shocker for Arsenal and Arteta. Benteke and Edouard both scored after Palace capatilised on Arsenal’s poor alertness in the middle of the pitch.
The Gunners started to show some quality again in the final 10 minutes and they did grab a late equaliser through substitute Alexandre Lacazette. Arsenal were not good on the night, but they probably didn’t deserve to lose, a draw being the fair result.
Use our player rater tool below to have your say on how the players performed, and see the average of all the other fans. Scroll down to see how we rated the players and who we chose at the man of the match and flop of the match.
Here’s how I rated the players.
Aaron Ramsdale – 7
Takehiro Tomiyasu – 6
Ben White – 7
Gabriel Magalhaes – 6
Kieran Tierney – 5
Thomas Partey – 5
Nicolas Pepe – 6
Emile Smith Rowe – 6
Martin Odegaard – 5
Bukayo Saka – 5
Pierre Emerick Aubameyang – 7
Man of the match: Ben White and Alexandre Lacazette. White was very good on the ball today and his influence in the box helped set up Arsenal’s equaliser. He wasn’t amazing but was probably the best of a bad bunch. Lacazette changed the game for Arsenal and of course, scored the goal.
Flop of the match: Albert Sambi Lokonga. Not a good sub appearance from him. Mainly passed backward and gave the ball away for Palace’s second. Needs to do more.