Delaney own goal hands Gunners victory in frantic London derby
A Damien Delaney own goal handed Arsenal a narrow 2-1 victory at Crystal Palace in an absorbing London derby.
Olivier Giroud sublimely opened the scoring for the visitors in the early stages with a brilliant scissor kick finish, before Joel Ward equalised with a low 20-yard strike.
Conor Wickham struck a post for the Eagles in the second half before Delaney deflected Alexis Sanchez’s downward header into his own net before the hour mark.
The Gunners, who were fortunate not to see Francis Coquelin sent off, clung on to avoid losing their first two games of a season since the inaugural Premier League campaign back in 1992-1993.
The end-to-end nature of the game became apparent almost instantly, and within six minutes James McArthur did brilliantly to block Sanchez’s goal-bound effort after the Chilean had rounded Alex McCarthy.
Arsenal were looking fluid on the counter attack with Santi Cazorla restored to the central midfield role that he assumed so effectively last season.
And it took 16 minutes for the Gunners to find the breakthrough, arriving in stupendous style from Giroud who improvised to acrobatically volley home Mesut Ozil’s cross.
But, after McCarthy was called into a smart save to deny Sanchez, Palace responded impressively and Ward’s fizzing low strike just before the half hour mark deservedly levelled proceedings.
Just after the break, Palace came within inches of going ahead when Wickham, looking for his first Eagles goal, turned Wilfried Zaha’s teasing cross against the upright.
Coquelin was back to his bustling best in front of the back four, but will perhaps count himself lucky not to see red for a series of dangerous fouls as the Selhurst Park crowd voiced their displeasure.
And the Gunners restored their advantage ten minutes into the second half, Sanchez rising brilliantly at the back post before his header was turned in via the post by Delaney.
Palace came close twice in the dying stages through Chung Yong-Lee and Ward again, but their gallant efforts were in vain as Arsenal issued an impressive response to last weekend’s humiliation against West Ham.
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Crystal Palace vs. Arsenal: Score and Reaction from 2015 Premier League Match
Arsenal grabbed their first points of the 2015-16 Premier League season Sunday, beating Crystal Palace 2-1 at SelhurstPark.
Olivier Giroud opened the score with a spectacular volley early in the first half before Joel Ward equalised against the run of play. Both teams had their chances in the second half, but an unfortunate own goal by Damien Delaney sealed the Eagles' fate.
The Gunners fully deserved the win based on their dominant showing in the first half, but poor finishing nearly cost them. They'll have to be far more clinical in front of goal when they host Liverpool in Week 3.
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As reported by the Gunners' official Twitter account, Alexis Sanchez was fit to start his first match of the season, adding some much-needed explosiveness to the Arsenal attack.
From the opening whistle, the action was fast and furious. Arsenal pressed high but nearly ran into a deadly counter-attack, with Ward testing Petr Cech. At the other end of the pitch, a lovely team move resulted in Giroud questioning Alex McCarthy for the first time.
Yohan Cabaye and Sanchez saw promising shots blocked at the last second within the span of a minute, but Arsenal's attack was making more of an impression than that of the hosts, per Bleacher Report's Sam Tighe:
Aaron Ramsey and Sanchez put McCarthy to work with powerful drives, and the Eagles were on the verge of being overrun. Just as the pressure seemed to ease a bit, Mesut Ozil crossed behind Giroud in the box, and the France international produced an acrobatic volley to give the Gunners a deserved lead.
Bleacher Report UK was more than impressed:
Despite the early lead, Arsenal pushed on for a second goal. McCarthy deflected a dangerous cross right into the feet of Ozil, who hesitated for a second and saw the ball cleared by Ward. Nacho Monreal then found Sanchez with a lovely cross, but the Chilean's timing abandoned him, sending a header over the bar.
Arsenal kept missing good chances, and against the run of play, the Eagles managed to equalise through Ward. The 25-year-old was given far too much space and unleashed a perfect strike from outside the box, beating Cech at the far post.
The veteran stopper was hardly at fault for the goal, as LaurentKoscielny was too late stepping into the path of the ball and failed miserably with his block attempt. Former professional Jan Aage Fjortoftthinks the Frenchman needs to educate himself in that aspect of the game:
According to WhoScored.com, Cech's numbers after two matches with the Gunners don't look great compared to those he managed with former club Chelsea:
Giroud nearly produced another insane piece of skill to restore the lead, but this time, his effort flew wide. Santi Cazorla and Ramsey also had good chances to give the Gunners the lead before half-time, but poor finishing and a solid showing from McCarthy kept the score 1-1.
Francis Coquelin flirted with a dismissal in the final minutes of the first half, lunging into Yannick Bolasie for his first booking before blatantly pushing Wilfried Zaha to the ground. The Daily Telegraph's Matt Law didn't hide his opinion:
The frantic pace of the match didn't drop early in the second half, with Connor Wickham striking the post within minutes of the restart. Sanchez and Cazorla then set up Ramsey out wide, but the Welshman's cross failed to find a team-mate.
Fans weren't happy after referee Lee Mason awarded Arsenal a free-kick when Monreal appeared to boot Wickham squarely in the face, with football365's Daniel Storey sending this sarcastic message into cyberspace:
Controversy or not, the Gunners reclaimed the lead after 55 minutes, courtesy of the own goal by Delaney. Sanchez climbed highest to fire a powerful header toward the goal, and while the ball appeared to be missing the target, Delaney tried to intervene and ended up firing it into his own net.
TV personality Piers Morgan still praised the Chilean's effort, as he should:
To the horror of Eagles fans, Mason allowed Coquelin to stay on the pitch after another poor tackle, this time on James McArthur. Gunners manager Arsene Wenger immediately intervened, however, taking the Frenchman off for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.
Per BT Sport's Lynsey Hipgrave, Wenger's colleague Alan Pardew must have been furious at the decision:
Ramsey came close to doubling the Gunners' lead, driving a shot just over the bar, before Arsenal took their foot off the gas and started looking at preserving the lead. Mikel Arteta came on for Sanchez, with the forward having lasted 75 minutes.
Palace launched a late offensive in a desperate attempt to force a draw, and Jordon Mutch nearly grabbed the equaliser, with his header missing the bar by inches. Chung-Yong Lee should have done better minutes later, but his tame effort was aimed straight at Cech.
The Gunners calmly saw out the match in injury time to claim their first win of the season.
Arsenal will host Liverpool at the Emirates on Monday, Aug. 24, and with both clubs still looking for their best form, fans should be in for an interesting contest. Coquelin is lucky he'll even get to play, and the Gunners should be close to full strength, so one has to assumeWenger will be aiming for a win in the squad's first big test of the season.
The Eagles will try to return to their winning ways when they hostAston Villa on Saturday.
Post-Match Reaction
As shared by the club's official Twitter account, Wenger told reporters he was pleased with the result, given the challenges that come with playing at Selhurst Park:
Giroud acknowledged he and his team-mates should have been more efficient with their chances, via the Premier League's official Twitter account:
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