Crystal Palace 2-2 Arsenal: Every player marked out of 10 as Zaha torments the Gunners to end winning streak

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It was an intense London derby at Selhurst Park, but Arsenal and Crystal Palace shared the spoils with a 2-2 draw.

In the first-half, both sides looked to be heading into their dressing rooms stalemate, but Luka Milivojevic put Palace in the lead, scoring the club’s first goal on home turf this season during the dying embers of the opening 45 minutes, after tucking home a penalty kick.

Arsenal started the second-half like a house on fire; first Granit Xhaka scored a thunderbolt free-kick right out of the top drawer, before Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang poked home from just a few yards out moments later.

However, Palace were not to be denied and with ten minutes left, Martin Atkinson awarded a penalty after Xhaka was adjudged to have fouled Zaha; Milivojevic inevitably tucked home the resulting spot-kick.

So, with that considered, how did the players rate?

Crystal Palace

Wayne Hennessey – 5 – The Welshman was a spectator for large parts of the match, but could do nothing as Xhaka rifled home a brilliant free-kick, though he did come close to keeping out Aubameyang’s effort.   

Aaron Wan-Bissaka – 8 – Imperious at the back, the 20-year-old stood up to the daunting task of man-marking Aubameyang and then Iwobi after the players swapped wings, and it never looked like either could get the beating of him – a polished performance.   

James Tomkins – 5 – Formed a solid defensive partnership with Sakho during the first-half, but failed to deal with the set-piece threat that Arsenal posed after the restart.

Mamadou Sakho – 6 – Much like Tomkins, the 28-year-old was formidable in the first-half and looked to have the physical and aerial edge over Lacazette, but Palace conceded two cheap goals.

Patrick van Aanholt – 6 – Looked to surge forward whenever physically possible, the Dutchman performed his duties at the back well while also offering an attacking presence in the final third.   

James McArthur – 5 – A composed and cool head in the middle of the park, the Scot always made himself available whenever Palace took control of possession, but ultimately struggled to make his presence felt before coming off for Max Meyer. 

Luka Milivojevic – 7 – Arsenal dominated possession in the first-half, but the club captain hustled in midfield and showed a number of neat touches. He also managed to redeem himself after missing a penalty against Everton last week, this time firing past Bernd Leno with more conviction on two occasions.

Cheikhou Kouyate – 6 – Energetic and industrious in midfield, the Senegal international added some much-needed legs and physicality to Palace’s play.

Andros Townsend – 6 – Was jeered by the Arsenal fans for his affiliation to Spurs, but kept his head and demonstrated a number of those penetrative runs we tend to associate with the incisive winger.     

Jordan Ayew – 6 – Stuck to his task of closing down the Arsenal defence well, while also offering a solid outlet from the Palace midfield to hit. A professional if not spectacular performance.   

Wilfried Zaha – 8 – A constant thorn in Arsenal’s side, Palace’s talisman produced a number of his trademark runs, and caused a plethora of problems for the Gunners defence, another dangerous performance from the Ivorian winger.

Substitutes:

Max Meyer 9 (for McArthur 61) – 6 – Palace looked more creative and threatening with the German on the field.

Alexander Sorloth (for Ayew 64) – 5 – Came on and was just able to keep the Arsenal centre-back pairing on their toes.

Jason Puncheon (for Kouyate 88) – N/A – Just came on the see the match out.

Arsenal

Bernd Leno – 5 – Looked solid and commanding between the sticks. The German could do nothing as Milivojevic tucked away two penalties.    

Hector Bellerin – 5 – Got forward in his typical fashion, but largely struggled to contain the creative threat of Zaha and was taken off at half-time.   

Shkodran Mustafi – 5 – Produced a howler to concede a penalty in the first-half, but kept Ayew quiet and made more passes than any player on the pitch.

Rob Holding – 5 – A solid enough performance from Holding, first in stifling Ayew for his spell on the pitch, and then in dealing with the physically imposing presence of Sorloth upon his introduction.   

Granit Xhaka – 6 – He was playing in a very unnatural position, and having to deal with very two experienced wingers; held his own for the large spells, but took the bait in the second-half. Also netted a glorious free-kick to bring his side back into the game.

Lucas Torreira – 7 – The pint-sized pivot was simply everywhere, consistently sweeping up possession, and procuring the ball for Arsenal’s more creative outlets to flourish further forward.

Matteo Guendouzi – 6 – Always made himself available for his team-mates and was never shy in wanting the ball, but faded as the game went on, and lacked the physicality of the Palace midfield.       

Alex Iwobi – 5 – Caused a number of problems on the wing, but largely failed to really stamp his mark on the match, though he did look threatening every time the ball found his feet.

Mesut Ozil – 5 – The German was anonymous for large spells and failed to replicate the Leicester City performance from Monday night. 

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang – 6 – The Gabonese pace-merchant struggled in the opening exchanges to get the better of Wan-Bissaka, but swapped wings and looked more threatening.  

Alexandre Lacazette – 6 – Held the ball up well, and brought his team-mates into play whenever he had the ball at his feet, but the Frenchman scuffed a couple of chances, and failed to find the back of the net when his side needed him to. 

Substitutes:

Stephan Lichtsteiner (for Bellerin 45) – 5 – The experienced full-back came on and done what was asked of him.

Danny Welbeck (for Ozil 68) – 5 – Failed to really stamp his authority in the final third.

Aaron Ramsey (for Aubameyang 78) – 5 – Came on for the final 10 but did not have much of an impact.  

The post Crystal Palace 2-2 Arsenal: Every player marked out of 10 as Zaha torments the Gunners to end winning streak appeared first on Squawka News.



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