Arsenal: Cech, Bellerin, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Monreal, Coquelin, Cazorla, Ramsey, Ozil, Alexis, Giroud
Subs: Ospina, Debuchy, Gabriel, Gibbs, Arteta, Walcott, Oxlade-Chamberlain
Leading up to today’s clash at Selhurst Park, the boss talked about wanting to see more aggression from his side. So it is perhaps through that prism we should look at the changes made from the defeat of the previous weekend. Alexis was brought in leaving the Ox on the bench despite being one of our most potent attackers over recent matches. And Bellerin was restored at right back against Palace’s pace for a lineup that resembled the 2nd half of last season’s campaign.
After a lively start that showed both sides and both sets of supporters were up for it, the 1st real chance fell for Giroud after some slick interchange with Ramsey on the left. Moments later from a Palace corner, Arsenal broke on a lightning break that saw Alexis get off 2 shots on goal, still to no avail. And a few moments later, Alexis forced a turnover to create another chance.
After some end to end action, Arsenal moved the ball quickly to the left wing where Ozil fizzed in a cross for Giroud to finish with a stylish, low scissor kick. 1-0 to Arsenal on 15 minutes.
Sanchez pounced on another error to get a shot off one-on-one with the keeper while Palace relied on swift counters through Zaha and Bolasie which led to plenty of set-pieces for them.
But in the 27th minute, Palace replied through Ward after working the ball from the left to the right side. 1-1.
On 35 minutes, Arsenal countered swiftly for Ozil to cross from the left to Ramsey who almost flicked it in cleverly.
Arsenal continued to create and threaten as halftime approached. Coquelin picked up a yellow card and minutes later clipped Zaha in midfield for a tackle that would normally earn him a 2nd yellow. He had gotten lucky as play closed for half-time providing a chance to cool down.
The early chances fell to Palace and within a couple of minutes of the restart, Wickham struck Cech’s left post as he met a cross from his right.
A magic flick by Ozil on the Palace byline off a Cech longball earned Arsenal a freekick.
Coquelin broke up a dangerous counter with an eye-catching tackle to regain possession and set up a counter.
Then on 54 minutes, Arsenal got the reward for their pressure as a Bellerin cross was met by Sanchez rising in the box and heading towards the far post which was deflected in for our 2nd goal. 2-1 to Arsenal.
Palace countered minutes later and Bellerin was caught flat-footed by Puncheon but Cech was on hand to make the save diving to his left.
On 61 minutes, Coquelin got what looked like a last warning from the referee. Chamberlain was hurriedly brought on for Coquelin to take the heat out of things. Ramsey dropped into the midfield to provide the bite alongside Santi while the Ox started to give Palace a taste of their own medicine through pace on the wing.
Another counter started by Santi showcased Ozil’s great linking passes and gave him a shot on goal which went over from a dangerous position.
Alexis made way for Arteta on 75 minutes as Arsenal looked to wrest control of the encounter. Gibbs came on for Ozil on 82 minutes. Arsenal were looking to dig in and hit on the counter. And having pace on the wings to match Palace’s pace.
A dodgy corner for Palace came off a Palace player and bounced over fortuitously. It would be a frenetic last 5 minutes or so on an energy sapping, hot, and humid day. Corners and crosses for Palace with Arsenal grateful to scramble the ball clear. Interspersed Arsenal counters saw Santi have a shot blocked from close range to win a corner to relieve pressure, almost worth a goal as we worked through the 3 minutes of extra time. A final counter gave Ox a shot at the keeper and brought a final whistle.
A nail-biter ended with a deserved Arsenal win, reaping 3 points from the first 6. So much better than any alternative scenario available today.
I think Monreal MOTM again for me
Ozil easily MoTM for me – kept our offense calmly ticking, despite lots of poor touches from our other forward 3. Then I’d say either Mertescielny or Monreal, and then after that it’d have to be Giroud.
Good decisive finish from him to blow some wind in our sails again.
Ozil could have 4 assists today.
Both were excellent, Monreal has been so steady since earning the spot and dealt well with the speedy wing play of Palace.
Ozil was on a different planet today at times, some of his control and moves where great to watch. His work rate was top notch and was all over the place in the counter attacks. He may have his ups and downs with his play, but nobody can deny the incredible amount of talent he possesses.
Oh some of the tossers can!
koscielny has been terrible for the past 2 games by his standards. but am I the only one that thinks so?
Yes?
Decent performance overall, not very convincing in the back. I’ll take those three points though, thank you very much.
Actually imo we defended very well, especially towards the end. You have to give some credit to Crystal Palace. They are a very good team.
Sorry I can’t agree mate. I think they are very average and we made them look amazing for their first goal. Allowed them a free shot on goal and Cech should NEVER be beaten from that distance with a daisy cutter into the far corner. Towards the end we did defend pretty well, but I thought Mertesacker looked rusty just like last year at the season’s beginning. His poor headed clearance / E Honda flying headbutt was really poor and he ended up on his ass, thank God Palace made a hash of it. Palace at least tried to play… Read more »
Completely disagree about Cech. There is not much he could have done with that shot. It was hit right at the bottom corner with plenty of pace and even Neuer wouldn’t have saved that.
Also on the goal, Ozil should have closed down Ward as he was nearest to him. Koscielny didn’t help much either.
Yep, can’t blame Cech for that one.
He did look dodgy on a couple of corners though – stuff to be worked on in training I think.
mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
As far as their goal, I don’t think there was much Cech could do, it was a perfect strike really. All I am hoping is for back Kos/Per/Cech to gel quickly, he’s a very good keeper, he will save a lot of points for us this season.
Well they ARE average, but let’s not be daft. The average level of premier league teams are very very high. I mean just look around; Stoke getting Shaqiri and Affelay, Swansea getting Ayew, and the very team we faced getting Cabaye. Those are top class players. Chelsea last year didn’t walk the league comfortably if you could recall. They had shaky games where they won 1-0 from last minute goals. Likewise in the 2nd part of the season they only look to park the bus and nick a breakaway goal, a luxury they can afford after building a healthy lead… Read more »
would love to see Kos throw his body at that shot instead of turning his back on it. It’s not a baseball or hockey puck and really doesn’t hurt that much when it hits you…
Tough place to win so a great 3 points!
Always a difficult decision, that, as a defender.
If you can make a solid block, of course you should throw yourself at the ball. If not, there’s always a chance you might divert the ball past your own GK. If you think you might do that, or obstruct the GK’s view of the shot, maybe it’s best to get out of the way.
It’s possible Kos thought Cech would have that covered.
He should not have turned his back, he unsighted Cech and let the shot go by.
I dunno about the not hurting part mate. If it hits you in the wrong place at the wrong time, then plenty can go wrong. Alan Smith (not the legend, the United one) breaking his leg blocking a Riise free kick comes to mind. And it wasn’t a hairline fracture even, it’s a full tibia break a la Ramsey.
lovely goal by Giroud, and Özil.. ohhh Öz, you can be an absolute wizard when up for it.
Great attitude all around by the lads today.
*As for Cech, I just think he needs time to gel with his new back four; he did play with the megacunt knows as Terry for 11 years anyway…
COYG
idk whats the problem with cech right now, of course hes much better than this, especially when he dives and doesnt throw his hand (2nd goal againts hammers and today again) it just gives you the feeling like he has pictures of a russian mafia head abramovic reminding him he should also care about his wife and children, really, no confidence in our newboys face (as well as his game)
Coquelin getting bashed for no reason. yes, he was reckless and should have been sent off but made a few crucial tackles and showed his range of passing which is underrated.
Hit a few beauties towards the wing in the game at times. I thought it was cazorla passing at first. Fabregas who
I thought arteta was very good when he came on, he will be a good backup to close the game when we are leading.
Yeah, I was very impressed with him
Arteta made a vital tackle to save a goal. Things would have been very different otherwise.
Arteta was wonderful. Disciplined and well positioned (like always). Just what we needed at that stage of the game.
Very little has been made that his two supposed “sending off” are very soft fouls. Fair enough the first could’ve led to a Palace break but the contact was never enough to send Zaha tumbling. But he seemed to have picked up from Ashley Young where it’s better to dive instead of continuing on an advantage for the team. The second he definitely had a right to contest, 50-50 at most. Commentators talking out of their arses again about Arsenal. Whatever it is glad Wenger saw through this and took him off instantly.
I agree. He wasn’t reckless, but Palace did seem to target him for extra pressure after his booking, and it could easily have paid off for them. I think the ref could see they were trying to construct incidents with him deliberately though, hence not punishing the “soft” fouls. The problem is that other teams will surely see it as “Break Coquelin and you Break Arsenal” unless we get another similarly strong DM as backup. Everybody knows he is key to our improved fortunes and they will target him to gain an advantage over us. We need a clone so… Read more »
Anyone who doesn’t recognise that ‘Dickelin’ is a play on Coquelin’s amusing name (and, let us not forget, it is an amusing name) is not worth your time, old boy.
As for Caltrops, doesn’t he play for Sevilla, along with Bolas and Tripwireattachedtoclaymore? All three would be most welcome additions to the team. I especially wouldn’t mind seeing Tripwireattachedtoclaymore get stuck into a couple of players in blue…
On another note Arteta looks impressive when he filled in for the Coq, sniffing out dangers early and aggressively. Since we missed out on Shneiderlin I made a point that if Arteta can find his form in the 12/13 season when we always lose without him on the team sheet, then we’d be on good stead. Just to remind everyone the other DM in our team then was a certain Alex Song, who’s positioning was so poor without Arteta alongside he just gets found out so many times. He was excused in some ways due to a number of assists… Read more »
Arteta was so quick! Wtf?
Fixed ankle he played most of a season on crocked.
He’s looking pretty trim and match fit too.
Good for him, I hope he continues to prove his critics wrong!
Title is ours!!
With so many people unable to comprehend the sarcasm behind the statement, I fear that day is not far where it will be an obsolete concept.
Makes bad joke. Gets angry when nobody laughs.
Back Page of The Daily Bollock on Monday morning….
“Bosscielny Bites Back After Bossed By Boo Boys”
A sweet win coming out of the collective fighting spirit of all players on pitch. COYG.
The jury is still out on cech though.
Our continued reliance on Alexis to bail us out is worrying. Very impressive finish from Giroud though.
He plays and scores, which you kind of hope your forwards will do and you call it “bail us out” ?
Isn’t it more a case of “two forwards do their job” ?
I’m sorry but if a win doesn’t make you happy what does? Me thinks you’re indeed a troll or something more sinister like…the press… Great win today lads, oz motm for me and, despite what our commentators suggested, thought we bossed it against a very decent side. I’ve said it before on here but can we please start some kind of petition to get sky to offer a commentary free version of the match. I grew up at Highbury and prefer not to listen to someone who is anti-arse telling me contrived bullshit he thinks is wisdom. Give me stadium… Read more »
Also, technically it was an own goal (to my disdain as alexis is obviously my captain in fantasy football) so please, please, for the sake of priesthood think damnit
Now a nice draw between chelshit and shity.
We played extremely well in the first half. Especially first 25 mins. Their goal was very good, but they didn’t do much aside from a corner, hitting the post and a well struck goal.
Ozil was my motm. Well done olly.
COYG!
I don’t know why but I want that arrogant bastard to be beaten convincingly by city, city always loose points, but if that bus team wins today they will get their confidence back I want them crashed.
That would technically put the title out of Chelsea’s hands after two games. How hilarious would that be?
I dont think youre alone on that. Come on $hitt¥
Chelsea have crashed and the arrogant bastard beaten convincingly, just like you ordered sir.
I always want them beaten.
Page 23 of The Daily Bollock on Monday morning, just below the article on genital herpes:
“17 players seriously injured in Manchester as Huge Cunt spontaneously explodes”
Good to get the result but we need to sort our defence out. We looked way to vulnerable at times. It was probably always going to be a win that we would have to grind out after last weekend. A good result against the scallies and we will be on our way.
metersacker isn’t aggressive at all for a tall dude and a defender
Phew glad to win and Palace were lucky not to be 4 down in the first half. The players need to become more ruthless there were so many chances, all the beatuiful football in the world means nothing if you don’t stick in the back of the net. I have to say as well that Giroud took his chance remarkably well considering all the stick he’s been getting after one game.
Just goes to show what all of that stick after one match is worth!
Internet = instant hair-on-fire overreaction.
Thought Arteta looked fantastic today when he came on, best player the last 10-15 minutes. Put in great least ditch tackles and shouting and ordering everyone around, like a true captain. Gets so much undeserved stick
‘Ozil doesn’t dominate games’ – he was outstanding today
Thanks to Alexis for the three vital points but am i the only one thinking that Cech is not an upgrade to Ospina at all?
Online 2 games man..
Only*
He needs time to form a formidable axis with Mert and Kos and in any case he’s a definite upgrade
Maybe its a bit unfair, but I feel like he could have done better with Palace goal. But their is an argument for time needed to gel: thats twice in 2 games that a shot has dodged by Koscielny and beaten Cech to his right. I would very much like to never see that again.
but looks a little slow to get to the ground on those low shots…
I think today’s game made it pretty obvious that he is still developing understanding with the back 4. It may take another game or two for him to get to used to Mertecienly and Arsenal’s way of defending. Chelsea’s style of play is pretty different from our’s.
Yes.
I definitely disagree – Cech has only played three whole competitive games for us and is yet to build a proper relationship with the back 4 . This combined with his track record as one of the best goalkeepers of the past decade means it is simply wrong to make that kind claim at this moment in time. Him and the team will be happy with a win today. Well done Gunners, Crystal Palace are a good side and to beat them at their place will probably be a difficult task for most teams this season. Hopefully Chelsea v City… Read more »
Quite right. We lost a goal due to our defenders sitting off and giving him too much time to get the shot away. It was a good finish, not much at all Cech could have done about it. Yes, he made mistakes last week but let’s support him. The guy’s a Gooner and deserves it.
Even jenks wouldve saved that. Whats with the non-extending arms????
It almost seemed as if he thought it was going wide and decided not to extend fully.
I think that’s a save you expect your keeper to make. It was hit well, but not THAT well.
Scrappy win after some end to en opening to start…not convincing but have to take it….make no mistake…this was a vital win…but still don’t like Ramsey on the wing….
Showing our bouncebackability again.
Delighted with 3 points but have to say I thought management was terrible. How he don’t take coq I will never know. Reactive as opposed to proactive once more. Wenger got away with that but it don’t fill me with confidence. I hate to say it Fatgooner may be right.
“He don’t take Coq” ? What are you trying to say there? Wenger took Coquelin off when he realised that they were targeting him after his booking. It wasn’t like he waited an hour, and he did take him off before he gor a second booking. We looked a little shaky as soon as he was taken off, until Arteta (quite quickly, thank goodness) got a grip on proceedings. Wenger had to balance what might happen if he got sent off against what might happen to the rest of the team if he took him off. It’s not as easy… Read more »
Ah gutbucket thanks for high listing the fraudian slip hey!! In case you didn’t notice coq could have got second yellow before halftime and then another ref gives it to him (deliberate) after halftime and them the boss takes him off. It ain’t a difficult decision at all. Most of people watching would have called it. It’s called being proactive.
two fouls doesn’t mean a red no matter which commentators you are swayed by. How many times have you seen a player against us get away with 5/6 before a single booking? Vanden borre, Clattermole and Cahill spring to mind
Tell me what the proactive approach would’ve been?
And wash your mouth out, Fats has never been and will never be right… He changes his tune more often than a Fucking jukebox
4 points from a possible 6???
Shows the delusion some are agreeing with this!! Hilarious. We got away with it today. The decision to leave coq on was terrible management. Think jack a few years back at old Trafford. Another ref gives a second yellow and then it would have been very difficult. Paint it any way you like, my opinion was picking Ramsey out wide was poor leaving coq on was terrible and having no pace up top at end just invited pressure and please don’t say ox most if the time he was attempting to defend. Giroud and Ramsey were furthest forward for last… Read more »
But… We won… Therefore justifying…
You mean 3 points from the first 6, of course.
4 points from 6???
Err it was neither hot or humid either…
Yeah we won, but we should have been punished at least twice. Once with Puncheon, then with Lee. A better team would have converted those chances and it’s meltdown again. Giroud with a stellar goal, but after that he was totally anonymous. Overall i’m still not totally convinced by this team, and i’m gonna take out the violin again and say we need a better striker. It’s a fact. I’m not making Giroud the scapegoat, I just think it’s our most pressing issue.
Preach Brother Preach !
3 points and we move on.
Anyone notice Coquelin going a bit more Hollywood with his passes? Actually sprayed some nice balls about to be fair (probably not the best turn of phrase when talking about a coq)
Pleased for giroud, we can argue till the cows (mourinho’s wife..probably) comes home if he’s good enough to lead the line but he puts himself about and fights for the team. Credit to him.
Up the arsenal!
I think the general argument is that we need a “guaranteed 20-goals a season striker”, and on last season’s showing Giroud is an utter failure as he is only a “19-goals in a season that included a broken leg” striker.
I completely understand the argument for an upgrade, but I’m more inclined to support what we have IF the player is giving his all whilst wearing an Arsenal shirt.
Arteta did well when called upon. Nacho & Oz were fantastic. Kos shying away from a shot for the 2nd time in a week. Worrying.
Great result Ramsey a liability tho..
how..
not a liability but I think he was trying a bit too hard out there. He is best when he simplifies his play especially with the ball.
How many times have we said that though? When will he learn?
Too many stray passes totally abondons his playing positions leaving Bellerin exposed
How is Ramsey a liability? His energy and all round ball retention is so important to the team. Sure sometimes he should simplify his game but his importance to our team cannot be taken lightly.
i think the more articulate way of saying it is the team is unbalanced with him and carzola both playing. i was surprised wenger opted for him instead of chamberlain who for me is more suited for the wing game palace plays with Bolaise and zaha.
So happy Giroud scored against Palace yet again!
Congrats on our first win of the new season but I was watching with my heart in my mouth!
3 points
ooh to be a gunner.
The team showed mental strength today. IMO koscielny should have done better for their goal, Ramsey needs to play the simple pass most times.
all around good performance, great win
Now was that so hard?
If we play like that every week and add abit of quality upfront we will win the league. We are always gonna create chance just need to put them away dammit! #Cogyg proud of our boys…Ozil class
If we play like we did today against a better quality team we would have lost.We lack a proper striker up front and our defense is still shambles.
So what does a “proper striker” do in a game? Score? Wow, pity Giroud can’t do that…. Oh!
The game is 90 mins where was Giroud after his goal ? Proper strikers create goal and brings others around him into the attack,have yet to see Giroud lead any attack from out our half.
1. I think Giroud does bring around him into attack. I thought everyone here agreed on that.
2. Which striker starts an attack from our half? Isn’t that the work of everyone except the striker?
I guess we are not playing counter – attacking footy where we are all behind the ball and playing out from the back.Suarez did it non-stop for Liverpool in his last season and made Sturridge and Sterling look top shelf.
Im not saying we were neccesarily ‘napoli UCL home leg 1st half’ quality but there was an underlying determination from the players to win this one. That is why i want the same attitude carried on all our remaining games…
Was a great game! Fair play to Palace they gave it a good go. Alexis is back and already making decisive impact. good goal giroud. Ozil played magically at times. Much needed win to settle
palace have a great team to be honest with the likes of wicham bolasie pancehon zaha cabaye, glad we played them so early when they pick good form I predict for the other teams or the title conteders to be dificult they will lose points.
Cech was much better today. Put the defence where they should have been on free kicks from in front. Mark Bosnich on Fox Sports Australia explained exactly why you couldn’t blame Cech in any way for the goal today. Bosnich may have been a bit of an arsehole as a keeper but he does know his business. I think we’re lucky in Oz with the half-time talks. Much more incisive than what I’ve seen from Sky or ESPN in the past. They talk sense and there’s virtually no bias for one team or the other. Most importantly there’s no bias… Read more »
What? You think I’m being unfair to Cech? I’m not
You think I’m being fair to Cech? Yes, I am.
You hate me saying Bosnich was an arsehole? Maybe you’re a United supporter?
You hate me saying he’s not bad on Aussie TV?’ He isn’t
You hate Foxtel because it’s American?
You hate me talking about Arsenal when I live in Australia so must be a bloody know-nothing foreigner? (I was born in Kent, just like Arsenal)
You’re Sky fans?
I always wonder why people get thumbed down for saying nice things about Arsenal on here.
Woolwich is in Kent?
There is no media “bias” against The Arsenal,
The media get angry when The Arsenal don’t play well, because they can’t use their dictionary of Arsenal related superlatives when we do,
The media love it when The Arsenal win playing good footie,
Sorry accidental thumbs …. You’re wrong
Better. Still think Wenger is afraid to drop Ramsey in case he complains and looks for a transfer. I think our balance is a bit lop-sided The right side has pacy Bellerin, but Ramsey looks to come inside and avoids running the flank.On the left Monreal is slower than Gibbs, but has Alexis ahead of him. I think this means we can stretch teams down the left, but our central midfielders support the left flank more. We always seem to be chasing frantically back down our right flank and Bellerin gets exposed because Ramsey in infield. I noticed today that… Read more »
My sentiments Exactly !
I too was surprised that Ox wasn’t starting, especially based on last week’s performance. He was liable for last week’s goal though, and I wonder if Wenger factored that in. I don’t think that Ramsey is in any danger of getting transferred for the time being. As things currently stand, I don’t see either of Real or Barca (where he presumably wants to end up) come calling. But, I can’t help feeling that Ramsey is trying to go for glory when passing to team-mates in more convenient positions would be better. Hope he isn’t thinking that by racking up personal… Read more »
Lost count of how many times Ramsey gave the ball away always trying something too clever, he needs to stick to basics sometimes and know when to not be Mr big head. Santi was outstanding as was monreal.
Well Said.
mesut Ozil vs Palace
Passes 55
Completed 98%
Chances Created 5
Assists 1
so unstoppable on his day
Out of the relegation zone!
we had 31 attempts but we scored 1. what the hell, we should be more clinical. we looked shaky defensively and playing a playmaker out wide is a terrible decision. play the ox or walcott wide right. otherwise it was a good win. oh I forgot Ozil was majestic.
Too many attepts at the perfect pretty goal. SHHOOOOT FFS
Another example as to why Cazorla must play centrally
Draw in the 4pm game and we stay ahead of the cunt Jose…
Santi and coq in the middle destroy the lesser teams,and Ramsey on the wing gives stability and his runs are made better with giroud and ozil.
I told this girl i can’t reply when the Arsenal are playing. She’s still pissed. Guess she doesn’t realise that they’re disposable and Arsenal are not.
Anyways, great performance. Cazorla needs to stay CM. Just knows what to do with the ball compared to Ramsey. He makes us tick and ozil becomes better with Cazorla in the middle.
Ramsey vs Palace
Shot : 4(2)
Key Pass : 4
Tackle : 4
People always says that Ramsey need to stop trying too hard to score and go back to basic, yet they always shitting on him whenever he doesn’t score and miss pass a little while disregarding the rest.
Done; 3 points in the bag, bring on Liverpool. End of story.
Not a very convincing performance but a win is all that counts. It was nice to see Arteta come on and put in a commanding performance to help close the game out. Onwards and upwards lads, we will need to do more than this to beat the pool next week.
Both fullbacks looked pretty good, matched up against very dangerous wingers!
I was scathing of the team last week and was partially dreading this fixture. Palace away is always a right bastard of a game but well done to the lads, we ground out a very important win today. Much better in terms of intensity and pace up front, could’ve been out of sight by the end of the first half. Disappointing to lose the goal (again, like West Ham’s second last week, the defence just sat off giving Ward too much time to unleash his shot) but we dug deep and thoroughly deserved the win. Not a perfect performance, we… Read more »
Thought we played some excellent football at times…Should have been 10..No team in the league carves as many and misses as many clear cut chances as we do..Every single one of our midfielders bar Coq missed at least 2 good opportunities.. Despite that it was a good performance, Palace is a difficult place to go and they have a lot of Pace and power in there side..Despite a few difficulties and a few iffy moments i thought bellerin and especially Monreal had good games defensively keeping Zaha and Bolasie shackled..Monreal isn’t the greatest going forward but he picks his moments… Read more »
…and in other news those Citeh cunts just went 1 up against those Chelsea even-bigger-cunts
Citi handling there bidneez
I like this line up and I like Ramsey on the right where he gets to come in-field and do Ramsey things. As much as I love the Ox he seemed to ball watch when we were defending deep today. Great game of football though.
Ozil, MOTM hands down.
so our determination to win was “CRYSTAL CLEAR ” today…
and Giroud with those looks and such a cool finish ..making
Female Gooners wet all night long ….
Arteta has new batteries!