Highlights: Arsenal 0-0 Crystal Palace – Gunners frustrated

Ollie Irish

15th, January 2021

Fair play to Crystal Palace for putting in a stubborn, disciplined display at the Emirates last night, but Arsenal will feel this was a couple of points dropped.

Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal side went into Thursday’s match with four straight wins (in all competitions) under their belt, but they appeared a touch jaded against a lively Palace outfit.

The Gunners created few clear-cut chances. Striker Alexandre Lacazette shot into the side-netting, and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang saw a shot pushed away by Vicente Guaita, but overall this was not a game to remember.

Arsenal dictated most of the pay, but Palace had the better chances to score. Defender James Tomkins headed an Eberechi Eze free-kick against the crossbar and forward Christian Benteke prompted a good save from Bernd Leno, also with a header.

One plus for Arsenal was Thomas Partey’s cameo performance in the second half. He’s still adjusting to the faster pace of English football, clearly, but he did a lot of things well in central midfield. His reading of the game is excellent and he should be a big asset when he’s up to speed.

The draw leaves Arsenal 11th on 24 points. Palace sit 12th on 22 points. Both teams are too good to go down but not good enough to challenge at the business end of the table. That’s more frustrating for the Gunners than it is for Palace.