Arsenal bounced back from their opening defeat with a 2-1 win against Crystal Palace yesterday.
The 16th minute goal from Olivier Giroud and an own goal from Palace’s Damian Delaney after the interval, following an equaliser from Joel Ward in the first half, gave the Gunners their first win of the 2015/16 season.
Alexis Sánchez returned to the side and brought some attacking flair with his return, with more urgency upfront, having 3 shots on goal blocked at the start of the game.
The Gunners were more carefree in front of goal and were more able to be dominant than they were against West Ham in the opening game.
Mesut Özil, Aaron Ramsey and Santí Cazorla moved aggressively and passed precisely.
It was a tough game, while Francis Coquelin was fortunate not to get sent off after dodgy fouls throughout, but the Gunners battled through.
Arsène Wenger was pleased the team were fluent and stayed in the game, but was worried about the chances missed of scoring. expressing: “Our fluency was good in the first half and our mental response was good at 1-1.
“It was a bit scary to look at the chances we missed – you thought we would be punished after that but we dug in and hung on in the last 10 minutes, and that too is important in the season.”
He also praised Alexis Sánchez, but admitted he isn’t fully fit, telling media in addition: “Alexis Sanchez has only had two weeks of training but still he had the mental resources to score us a vital goal today. We know it’s not a 100%-fit Sanchez but a 100%-motivated Sanchez, and that at times can be enough.”
The next Arsenal game is against Liverpool on August the 24th.