Just in time

Arsenal 2-1 Crystal Palace

Saturday saw the return of Premier League football at the Emirates after a summer in which Arsenal fans’ expectations have increased significantly. The manager has made relatively early moves in the transfer window, strengthening a squad which was only seven points away from title glory last season. The signing of Alexis Sanchez in particular was a real statement from the club, following on from last summer’s capture of Mesut Ozil, indicating that the Gunners have well and truly entered into a new and exciting era, while the 3-0 victory over Manchester City in the Community Shield also hinted at an exciting season ahead.

The performance against Crystal Palace however brought many back down to earth as question marks concerning the lack of a real World Class centre forward resurfaced. With Giroud still struggling to return to full fitness, following his World Cup exploits with France, Wenger selected Yaya Sanogo to lead the line. Unfortunately, with Arsenal struggling to find their fluidity in the final third, the young Frenchman could not replicate his last performance at the Emirates and looked a shadow of the man who had netted four times against Benfica at the Emirates Cup.

This was a match endured rather than enjoyed. Tony Pulis’ departure 48 hours before the season was due to kick off, led many to believe this would be an easy victory for the Gunners. It proved to be anything but. Pulis may have been absent from the dugout but his mark was all over his former side as Palace came with a clear plan to spoil the game. They sat deep, committed clever little fouls around the half way line to disrupt Arsenal’s rhythm and wasted as much time as possible at each and every opportunity. Against teams with such a mentality, it is extremely difficult to look good. Had the Gunners managed to score an early goal, it would have a completely different game. Palace would have been forced to come out and the Gunners could have exploited the space in behind.

Unfortunately, Jack Wilshere’s effort in the first half was well saved by Speroni and the game settled into a war of attrition from that point on. Arsenal were far from their best, with passes going astray as they found it difficult to break down the solid defensive line held by Crystal Palace. The Gunners were continually denied time and space in the final third and did not play the ball quick enough to move their opponents out of position. As a result, the visitors were relatively comfortable and when Arsenal made the mistake of allowing Palace to take the lead, alarm bells were ringing.

Szczesny inexplicably raced off his line in an attempt to clear a through ball, but his clearance fell straight to Chamakh. The former Gunner hit a shot towards the open goal which was well blocked by Koscielny and the ball was then scrambled behind for a corner. It was Palace’s first opportunity of the game to launch the ball into the Arsenal penalty area and they made the most of it. Alexis Sanchez was instructed to block Brede Hangeland’s run to the near post, but was easily brushed aside and the big Norwegian flicked a header towards the back post, with the ball nestling into the bottom corner. It was poor defending from an Arsenal point of view, as Koscielny failed to spot Hangeland’s run and the Gunners decision not to deploy a player on the post was exploited. Had there been a player on the line, Hangeland’s effort would have been easily cleared. Hopefully Wenger will address this and revert to having players on the posts at corners as this can save several goals a season. Let’s not forget, had Gibbs not been on the line during those excruciating opening minutes of the FA Cup Final, Hull would have gone 3-0 ahead and probably been out of sight.

The home side were now up against it. Palace could now just sit back, soak up the pressure and frustrate the Gunners. Fortunately Arsenal managed to score just at the right time to get themselves right back into the game. As the final few seconds of the first half ticked down, Arsene Wenger’s side were awarded a free kick. Sanchez delivered a perfect ball to Koscielny, who had made a wonderful run in behind the Palace defence and the French defender, who has made a habit of scoring in the final game of each season, steered an excellent header into the bottom corner to open his and Arsenal’s account for the new season.

During the second period Arsenal enjoyed the majority of possession but still could not find a way to break down the Palace defence. Wenger’s decision to start with Cazorla on the left flank didn’t help matters as the Spaniard is not blessed with pace and naturally drifts inside, narrowing the attack which essentially was playing into Palace’s hands. Had Oxlade-Chamberlain, who came on for the last 20 minutes, or Joel Campbell started the game with Sanchez on the other flank, they would have provided a sense of width to stretch the Palace defence as well as offering the threat of pace in behind. As a result the visitors would have had more to think about which potentially could have enabled the Gunners to break through.

As it was, the home side’s passing was just not good enough or quick enough to pose any real threat to Speroni’s goal with the Argentine barely having a save to make the entire game. The clocked ticked down and as the match entered into injury time; there was a sense that Arsenal would not get the winner, despite Jason Puncheon receiving his marching orders in the final minutes for a second yellow card. In the third minute of injury time those fears were allayed. A cross from Oxlade-Chamberlain was headed on by Koscielny and then Giroud to Debuchy. The right back’s shot on the turn was parried by Speroni into the path of Ramsey, who had the goal at his mercy.

The sense of relief was palatable with the main positives being that Arsenal’s new signings all played relatively well. The understanding between Sanchez and the rest of the forward players is clearly still a work in progress but will come in time as he settles into the Premier League, while Debuchy also produced a strong performance, particularly in the first half. However the star performer from the Gunners new recruits was Callum Chambers as the young man belied his young age and lack of first team experience, to play with an air of calm and authority at the back, suggesting he may well be one of the shrewdest signings of the summer.

This was an ugly victory from the Gunners. They were not at their best at all, but showed great character and resolve to keep on going right until the end. Wenger has admitted that the season has come too soon for many of his players and in many ways Crystal Palace, with their spoiling tactics, were the worst team they could have faced. Fortunately the Gunners can now put this game behind them and move on. With the season only just beginning, Arsenal already face a daunting set of fixtures as they travel to Turkey this week for the Champions League qualifier with Besiktas before a tough away game at Everton. Wenger’s side must improve their level of performance as they will do well to come out of these games unscathed.