Gunners draw blank:
Alexandre Lacazette fails to hit the target with a close-range shot under pressure from Cheikhou Kouyate in last night’s Premier League stalemate.
ARSENAL’S recent surge up the table has breathed new life into Mikel Arteta’s side, changing the entire mood of the club, but they are not yet so transformed that they can just breeze past a team like Crystal Palace.
The south Londoners are fast becoming Arsenal’s bogey team, with Palace now unbeaten in the last five matches between these sides.
There is something about Arsenal that brings out Palace’s resilience and doggedness, and Roy Hodgson’s players seem to know which buttons to press and when to press them on these trips to the Emirates.
Inevitably there were moments when Palace had to withstand significant pressure here, sitting deep and absorbing the Arsenal attacks like a sturdy punch bag. But none of Arsenal’s blows were damaging, and Palace had plenty of their own opportunities at the other end.
By full-time, a draw felt like a largely fair result, however disappointed Arsenal will be that their four-game winning streak has come to an end.
Their overall performance was solid enough but on a freezing night they lacked the fireworks in attack that they have produced in recent weeks.
Inspire
Not even the return of Thomas Partey, their star midfielder, as a second-half substitute, could inspire the home side, for whom Emile Smith Rowe was unable to find the space and time he has thrived upon in his sparky showings since Christmas.
All London derbies tend to have an added intensity, of course, but these two teams have taken their rivalry up a notch or two in recent seasons.
Arsenal came into this without a win in their last four Premier League meetings with Palace, having generally found themselves unable to keep their cool against the south London side’s brand of provocative counter-attacking play.
The biggest victim of this in recent years has been Granit Xhaka, who was booed by his own fans in this fixture last season. He was subsequently stripped of the captaincy for his reaction, and there is no question that Palace – and Wilfried Zaha in particular – had got under his and Arsenal’s skin on that dismal afternoon.
There was a certain symbolism, then, when Xhaka flew across his own box to produce an exceptional block early on here, in a typically competitive first half.
It was a good opportunity for Palace’s top scorer, once wanted
by Arsenal, and it was by no means their only chance in the opening exchanges.
Christian Benteke soon fired over from close range, while Eberechi Eze looked sharp on his first appearance since being fined for breaching coronavirus protocols.
For Arsenal, it was not quite as dominant as they would have hoped, although they did look dangerous in attack. Their cause was not helped by the absence of left-back Kieran Tierney, missing through muscle tightness, but they did still create plenty going forward.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Bukayo Saka both shot on target, while Alexandre Lacazette was denied a free shot at goal by a poor touch by Hector Bellerin, his own full-back.
By the end of the half, Palace were wondering how they were not in front. James Tomkins headed against the bar, from an Eze cross, before Arsenal goalkeeper Bernd Leno produced an acrobatic save as Benteke’s header looked destined for the top corner.
It took a crucial sliding block from Xhaka to stop one Palace secondhalf attack, and then another lastditch clearance from the midfielder after Zaha had scampered down the right wing.
Still Arsenal pushed, with Arteta throwing Partey, Nicolas Pepe and Eddie Nketiah into the action, but on this occasion the pressure did not become clear chances. Palace held their shape and dug in their heels on a night of frustration for Arsenal. (© Daily Telegraph, London)