Patrick Vieira’s return to Arsenal ended in late disappointment as substitute Alexandre Lacazette’s last-gasp strike denied Crystal Palace a famous victory at the Emirates Stadium on Monday.
Arsenal took the lead early on through Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang but instead of being galvanized by the goal, the Gunners shrunk into their shell. Palace hit back strongly and were unlucky not to get an equaliser before halftime as Conor Gallagher’s effort was well saved by Aaron Ramsdale.
The Eagles flew out of the blocks in the second half, with Christian Benteke capitalizing on some sloppy play from the Arsenal midfield to level proceedings.
Odsonne Edouard gave Palace a deserved lead in the 73rd minute after Arsenal were caught napping once again. The Gunners huffed and puffed in search of a late equalizer and Lacazette was on hand to fire home in stoppage time and snatch a point.
The result extended Arsenal’s unbeaten run in all competitions to six, but dropped them down to 12th place in the Premier League table, while Palace remain 14th.
On that note, here’s a look at how the Arsenal players fared in their 2-2 draw against Crystal Palace.
Aaron Ramsdale – 6/10
Ramsdale made a stunning save in the first half to deny Gallagher, but he could have done better to keep out Edouard’s effort for Palace’s second.
Takehiro Tomiyasu – 5/10
After a bright start to his Arsenal career, Tomiyasu has put in a couple of average performances. The Japanese struggled to deal with Edouard’s pace and strength and he was constantly caught in possession.
Ben White – 5/10
Struggled defensively and his distribution left a lot to be desired, but it was his shot that led to Lacazette’s equalizer.
Gabriel – 6/10
Fared well against the aerial threat of Christian Benteke.
Kieran Tierney – 6/10
A lot of Arsenal’s attacks flowed through Tierney as always but he was not as adventurous with his passing as he normally is. The Scotland international was unlucky not to get on the scoresheet as his powerful effort late on cannoned off the crossbar.
Thomas Partey – 4/10
A disappointing display from the Ghanaian. In the absence of another holding midfielder, Partey was often overrun by the Palace trio of Gallagher, Luka Milivojevic and James McArthur. His passing was shoddy as well and he was robbed of possession for Palace’s equalizer.
Martin Odegaard – 4/10
One of the Norwegian’s worst performances in an Arsenal shirt by a stretch. Odegaard started brightly, but his influence waned as the match progressed. His normally silky touch let him down and he failed to make any kind of impact going forward.
Emile Smith Rowe – 6/10
Provided plenty of energy early on and played an important role in transition. Was let down by his decision-making on a couple of occasions.
Bukayo Saka – 4/10
Was anonymous for most of the first half and his time on the pitch came to a premature end after a dreadful challenge by McArthur. Replaced by Albert Sambi Lokonga at half time.
Nicolas Pepe – 5/10
Pepe was a major threat in the first half with his pace and movement. Played an integral role in Arsenal’s opener as his shot was saved by Guaiata before being turned in by Aubameyang. But his link-up play was poor once again and he did not do enough defensively.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang – 7/10
Started the game with plenty of energy and showed great awareness to open the scoring for Arsenal. Led the Gunners’ press in the first half, but appeared to run out of steam as the match progressed.
Substitutes
Albert Sambi Lokonga – 3/10
Replaced Bukayo Saka at halftime as Arsenal looked for more control in the midfield, but the Belgian was off-colour. He was culpable for Palace’s second goal as he was caught in possession.
Alexandre Lacazette – 8/10
Was Arsenal’s best player on the night despite featuring for just half an hour. The Frenchman added plenty of energy and spark to the attack after replacing Martin Odegaard. Had an effort well-saved by Guiata soon after coming on and scored with almost the final kick of the game to rescue a point.
Gabriel Martinelli – NA
Came on for Thomas Partey late on but did not have enough time to make an impact.
