Arsenal welcomed Crystal Palace at the Emirates Stadium earlier tonight as they hoped to secure all three points at home in the Premier League. The Gunners made a decent start to the game and got their noses ahead in the 28th minute when Gabriel Martinelli scored with a low strike. Bukayo Saka doubled Arsenal’s advantage just 15 minutes later with a lovely finish as Mikel Arteta’s men went into the half-time break 2-0 up on the scoreline.
Granit Xhaka put daylight between the two London sides in the 55th minute before Jeffrey Schlupp scored a consolation goal for the Eagles in the 63rd minute. Saka scored again in the 74th minute as the London derby finished with Arsenal securing an impressive 4-1 win in front of their home fans.
Let’s take a look at how each Arsenal player performed during the contest against the Eagles.
GK: Aaron Ramsdale – 7/10
The English keeper made a few solid saves at the back but will be disappointed for not earning a clean sheet.
RB: Ben White – 7.5/10
White didn’t do much wrong at the back and managed to create one good chance going forward. He ended the game with an assist to his name.
CB: Rob Holding – 7.5/10
He cleared the danger when needed and was a commanding presence in the air.
CB: Gabriel – 6.5/10
The Brazilian defender did his best to keep things tidy on the defensive end of the field and was replaced in the 85th minute.
LB: Oleksandr Zinchenko – 6.5/10
Zinchenko performed his defensive duties well but struggled to make himself useful in the final third.
CM: Martin Odegaard – 7/10
He caused a few problems for the opposition defenders and was accurate with his passing.
CM: Thomas Partey – 7.5/10
Partey got stuck in with some crunching tackles and was quite lively in the Palace half.
CM: Granit Xhaka – 8/10
The Swiss international anchored the midfield with conviction and scored in the 55th minute.
RW: Bukayo Saka – 9/10
Saka was unplayable at times as he managed to score two goals and grab one assist for Arsenal today. He deserves to be named the man of the match.
ST: Leandro Trossard – 7.5/10
He caused a few headaches for the Palace defenders and ended the game with an assist to his name.
LW: Gabriel Martinelli – 7.5/10
Martinelli made two promising runs with the ball on the left flank and scored the opening goal for the Gunners in the 28th minute.
Substitutes:
LB: Kieran Tierney – 7/10
He came on and bagged an assist.
ST: Gabriel Jesus – 6/10
The Brazilian sensation offered very little after coming off the bench.
CAM: Emile Smith Rowe – N/A
He hardly had any time to make an impact.
CM: Jorginho – N/A
Jorginho came on for the final few minutes of the contest.
CB: Jakub Kiwior – N/A
He didn’t get enough time to warrant a rating.
