Arsenal Survive Palace, Leapfrog Man United
Demola Ojo
Arsenal survived a late scare as they held on to beat Crystal Palace and take third spot in the Premier League. Santi Cazorla put the Gunners ahead when he converted a penalty after Pape Souare brought down Danny Welbeck. The England striker was involved in his side’s second goal as his low effort was parried by Julian Speroni before Olivier Giroud netted the rebound. Palace’s Glenn Murray scored in injury time after a goalmouth scramble and then hit the post as Arsenal held on. The Gunners had to battle hard for the three points and got lucky in the 95th minute when Murray connected with Yannick Bolasie’s cross but was denied by the woodwork.
It had looked like it was going to be a routine afternoon for the visitors, who had thwarted their opponent’s efforts, as Palace went 84 minutes before they registered a shot on target.
But Murray’s goal, which came when he slid the ball in from close range after the ball deflected into his path off Laurent Koscielny, gave Arsene Wenger’s Gunners side something of a fright. Nevertheless, Palace could not find an equalising goal as Arsenal moved up to third, their highest position in the Premier League since August.
The Eagles had been beaten in only one of their previous seven top-flight games, but fell behind to Cazorla’s eighth-minute penalty, which Souare conceded on his Premier League debut following his move from Lille.
Arsenal have now not lost in their last 11 matches against Crystal Palace. The Eagles’ last victory against the Gunners came with a 2-1 success at Highbury in 1994.
Arsenal were forced to defend deep for much of the match, although Palace boss Alan Pardew would have been frustrated with his side’s final delivery, as they often wasted good positions. The Gunners looked to catch the hosts on the break and the tactic worked perfectly at the end of the first half.
Alexis Sanchez released Welbeck, who appeared to be in an offside position, but the forward shot at Speroni, although the goalkeeper could not hold the ball with Giroud converting the rebound. Palace saw a lot of the ball at the start of the second half, but were nearly hit by another Arsenal counter-attack with Sanchez flicking the ball just wide when he only had Speroni to beat after being played through by Mesut Ozil.
But the hosts eventually began to create chances that their possession warranted. Dwight Gayle headed narrowly over from Souare’s excellent cross from the left, before substitute Murray got the goal that Palace deserved, although it was not enough to deny Arsenal.
Crystal Palace manager Alan Pardew said: “I can’t remember being as fulfilled by a defeat for a long time. I’m so proud of the players and I feel so despondent for them to not get anything out of the game.
“From the start to the finish we had a game plan to threaten them and give them no time. We were superb, but sometimes this game can be very cruel.
“The performance from the players and the fans was exemplary. We couldn’t have done any more. I was kicking myself that we were 2-0 down because we had been so much better than that. We played the best football that we have done since I’ve been here.”
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said: “It was about fighting for the win. Crystal Palace made it a really tough game and we had to dig deep on a difficult pitch against a good team so I’m very happy with the win.
“Palace gave everything they had. It was like a cup game. They closed us down and stopped us playing.”