Premier League: Arsenal held to goalless draw by Crystal Palace; stay at eleventh place

Image Source : GETTY IMAGES Arsenal remained rooted in eleventh place with 24 factors, whereas Palace stayed in thirteenth with 23 factors.
Arsenal’s three-match successful streak within the Premier League ended with a 0-0 draw in opposition to Crystal Palace on Thursday because the Gunners missed an opportunity to maintain their momentum going and climb up the desk.
Arsenal remained rooted in eleventh place with 24 factors, whereas Palace stayed in thirteenth with 23 factors.

“We’ll take it,” Palace winger Eberechi Eze mentioned. “It’s a good point to take.”
Arsenal supervisor Mikel Arteta was underneath extreme stress earlier than Christmas after the crew’s worst begin to a season since 1974. But wins over the festive interval in opposition to Chelsea, Brighton and West Bromwich Albion moved his crew again into midtable and in sight of the European positions.
But Thursday’s sport noticed his crew revert again to its outdated type, missing creativity in midfield and leading edge up entrance.
Arteta partly blamed fatigue, saying his gamers lacked “some freshness and a few high quality within the last third.
“We lacked the final go or the final shot. We needed to generate extra to win that sport,” he mentioned.
Arsenal managed the match in opposition to Palace within the opening levels of the primary half with the house facet’s clearest probability coming within the twentieth minute.
Captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang lower inside from the left and unleashed a curling shot that appeared to idiot goalkeeper Vicente Guaita. He wildly palmed the ball simply in entrance of him after which mispunched earlier than amassing it.
But Palace slowly grew into the match, placing Arsenal underneath stress in midfield and on the counterattack. The guests got here shut from a free kick within the thirty ninth when James Tomkins leaped above heart again Rob Holding and headed the ball in opposition to the crossbar.

Three minutes later, Christian Benteke beat defender David Luiz in an aerial duel to a cross from Tyrick Mitchell and the ahead’s close-range header almost beat Bernd Leno. But the goalkeeper’s leaping fingertip save was sufficient to push the ball out of hazard for a nook.
Arsenal piled on the stress in the beginning of the second half, creating a lot of possibilities with Hector Bellerin firing simply large after Palace did not clear and the ball fell to him within the forty sixth.
Aubameyang’s scoring drought continues within the Premier League. After his probability within the first half, Crystal Palace defenders did every thing to maintain the ahead from taking the ball on his favored left foot.
Palace assistant supervisor Ray Lewington stored shouting “right, right” on the high of his lungs to induce his gamers to maintain the ball on Aubameyang’s weaker proper foot.
Manager Roy Hodgson lauded his crew’s efficiency, saying he was comfortable to return away with a clear sheet.
“It was a fantastic piece of discipline and hard work from the players,” he mentioned. “It was a good evening for us.”
He added: “If we keep playing the way we did today, I think there’s points in the bag.”
Arsenal missed the tempo and creativity of left again Kieran Tierney, who was rested as a precaution with muscle tightness.
“They did defend very well with loads of players,” Bellerin said. “I felt that the little spark of creativity was missing today. Today, we didn’t have that little bit of luck that we needed.”
Arteta additionally acknowledged that the absence of Tierny, who can have an MRI scan on Friday, was a giant issue.
“He’s a real threat and the way we attack on the left is really important, but he is injured,” the supervisor mentioned. “We needed to find other options. We knew the plan, but the execution wasn’t enough today.”