As the Emirates Stadium faithful welcomed back one former Arsenal captain, many fans were left wanting to see the back of another. Mikel Arteta failed to impress in the battle of the two former skippers as Vieira’s side were left devastated conceding yet another late equaliser.
It was a tale all too familiar for Arsenal fans witnessing their team under the Spaniard. A good start was wasted by allowing the South London side back into the game without putting up a fight, at least until Alex Lacazette came on that is. It was a game that appeared to be won and lost in the centre of midfield, a position which both managers enjoyed varying levels of success with Arsenal.
Arteta set Arsenal up in a 4231, despite having both Martin Ødegaard and Emile Smith-Rowe in the starting XI. Smith-Rowe was at the tip of the midfield in the 10 with Ødegaard alongside Thomas Partey. Ødegaard struggled immensely, just like against Brighton, and had no impact on the game before being dragged off by his boss in the 67th minute. In defence of the Norweigan it seems an odd decision to play him at the base of the Arsenal midfield when he’d be much better suited to playing slightly further forward. However, he also failed to create anything when given this role in the second half following the introduction of Sambi Lokonga.
Saka’s injury allowed Partey to be reunited with Lokonga in Arsenal’s midfield pivot and both players made costly mistakes in the second half. As Takehiro Tomiyasu played a ball inside to Partey five minutes into the second half, the Ghanaian decided to turn into trouble and was caught on the ball by compatriot Jordan Ayew. Ayew found Christian Benteke who shifted the ball onto his right foot and finished expertly past Aaron Ramsdale. The second Crystal Palace goal was almost a mirror image to the first, as this time Sambi Lokonga was caught sleeping on the ball. Chelsea loanee Conor Gallagher, who impressed once more for the Eagles, won the ball from Arsenal’s young Belgian before freeing Michael Olise. Olise drove with the ball before releasing Odsonne Edouard. Edouard, who has already caught the eye of Arsenal fans when playing in Scotland, blasted a shot off the crossbar, bouncing into the helpless Ramsdale’s goal, after being allowed too much space by Ben White. Arsenal have had a problem with their midfielders’ carefree attitude on the ball in dangerous area, most prominently when Granit Xhaka is playing, but despite the Swiss’ absence Arsenal’s midfield still cost their side goals with individual errors.
To pin this solely on Arsenal’s midfielders would be unfair as performances like these happen far too regularly for it to be an anomaly. The North London side failed to seize the initiative after going 1-0 up and it wasn’t until Lacazette’s introduction that Arsenal looked like they could actually get back in the game. The substitutions reeked of desperation as Arteta also threw on Martinelli late in the game. The five attackers on the pitch didn’t look comfortable, not knowing what spaces to occupy, and the eventual equaliser came from a scrappy scramble in the Crystal Palace box.
The result leaves Mikel Arteta thanking his lucky stars as his side looked devoid of creativity, inspiration or any patterns in the final third for the umpteenth time under the Spaniard. The result was even more costly for the Arsenal manager as he was outperformed by a fellow former Arsenal captain, who some wanted to see in the Arsenal dugout. Vieira has been at the Palace helm for two months but seems to have rallied his troops into playing a brand-new style of football and they’ve proved to be effective whilst maintaining their style of play. It is a style of play that Arteta has yet to exert onto his squad and it doesn’t seem like there will be any semblance of style anytime soon.