10-man Arsenal played out a scratchy and scrappy 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace on Saturday lunchtime kickoff in south London.
Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang scored for the Gunners in the first half, but Palace fought back with a deflected goal from Andre Ayew in the second half.
After a fast and slick start to the game, Mikel Arteta’s men took the lead in 13th minute when Aubameyang was fed in by Alexandre Lacazette and the captain made no mistake in putting the ball into the back of the net.
The Gunners did have other chances to double their lead before the half-hour mark, but they were not clinical enough.
Eventually, Palace, who were non-existent in the first half, got their equaliser in the second half with Ayew latching onto the second ball from a set-piece and his shot deflected in via David Luiz.
Arsenal then gone down to 10 men after Aubameyang made a late high mistimed challenge on Max Meyer. Referee gave him a yellow card but VAR rightly overruled it.
Even after that, the away side had the better chance to win the game with Nicolas Pepe hitting the post and Lacazette not scoring from close range.
Here’s how we rated the Arsenal players after this spirited performance:
Bernd Leno - 6
Didn’t have to do a lot apart from picking the ball out of the back of the net once.
Ainsley Maitland-Niles- 8
The youngster dealt with Zaha very well and got forward on given occasion as well.
Sokratis- 7
He defended well to keep the Palace threat away. His partnership with Luiz is a flourishing one under Arteta.
David Luiz - 7
Just like Sokratis, Luiz also defended well and passed the ball with precision. It was unfortunate that the Palace goal went in via his deflection.
Sead Kolasinac- 7
A fighting performance from the left-back who was at the end of a lot of fouls, but he stuck at it and matched fire with fire.
Granit Xhaka - 7
Another decent performance from the former captain, who continues to impress under the new manager.
Lucas Torreira- 7
Torreira was having a very good game in the first half. However, he had to be subbed off at half-time after picking up an injury.
Nicolas Pepe - 7
At times, he looked very good on the wings taking players on. Was unlucky not to score the winner at the end when he hit the post.
Mesut Ozil - 7
A decent outing from the German, who could have done much better on the ball, but worked hard for the team and put a shift in.
Subbed off minutes after Aubameyang was sent off.
Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang-7
Took his goal well and was a threat all game long. But was rightly sent off in the 67th minute after making a late mistimed challenge on Meyer.
Alexandre Lacazette- 7
Assisted the Aubameyang goal, looked sharp up front and should have won the game later on. Subbed off in injury time.
(SUB) Matteo Guendouzi - 6
Came on at half-time and did a good enough job in midfield. Had to defend a lot after his team went down to 10 men.
(SUB) Gabrielle Martinelli- 6
Came on for the last 20 minutes and looked sharp. He was an outlet for deep defending Arsenal later on.