Arsenal gave away a two-goal lead at the Emirates yesterday to draw 2-2 against Crystal Palace. The results just mount an increasing amount of pressure on manager Unai Emery. The Gunners started on a very bright note and scored from 2 corners within the first 10 minutes with both Sokratis and David Luiz finding themselves on the scoresheet. However, things did not go as planned for the Gunners as they conceded a penalty through VAR for a Callum Chambers challenge on Wilfried Zaha which was converted coolly by Luka Milivojevic in the 32nd minute.
The misery continued for Arsenal as they conceded an equaliser in the early minutes of the second half as Jordan Ayew found the back of the net. Arsenal could not score one more and that keeps them four points below the top 4 as of now after this matchday.
Here are the four talking points from the match :
Unai Emery doesn’t seem to be having much more time
When the equaliser happened, a number of Arsenal fans stood up from their seats. They gave furious looks at Unai Emery. The 47-year-old Spaniard stood on the touchline. He was looking helpless. A better performing team would have just buried the game after having scored 2 in the first 10 minutes.
At the moment, it looks like the former Sevilla and Paris Saint Germain manager is hardly instilling confidence in the team and his body language after Jordan Ayew scored the equaliser is a testimony to this fact. Things will be getting much more difficult for Emery in the days to come as he is yet to win over the Arsenal fanbase despite being over a season in charge at the club.
Luka Milivojevic is a thorn for Arsenal, yet again
The Serbian international is a consistent penalty taker. Considering the fact that Crystal Palace does have a lack of goals from the forward department, it’s a blessing for them to have their 28-year-old captain being such a consistent penalty taker.
Milivojevic loves to score against Arsenal. Yesterday’s goal was his fifth in six games against the Gunners. He is apparently becoming their bogeyman. Milivojevic is the most consistent penalty taker in England alongside Harry Kane. This benefits Crystal Palace a lot.
Xhaka gets it all wrong with the home fans
One man who might be less popular than Unai Emery at the moment at the Emirates is Granit Xhaka. When his time came to be substituted in the 60th minute of the game, there were loud cheers.
He was going off the pitch slowly and there was a transition from cheers to boos due to this. While leaving the field, he made verbal abuse gestures to the fans. This is something that has not gone well with the Arsenal faithful. He’s expected to face difficult circumstances the next time he’s on the pitch.
Gabriel Martinelli deserves a chance for Arsenal
The 18-year-old has been very lively in the Europa League for the Gunners. He definitely deserves a chance over Alexandre Lacazette to prove his mettle in the Premier League now. His performances in the other cup games do give him the rights to be given the chance to show his class in the Premier League now.
