Author: Segr Atrakhov, Amrit Santlani
After
ManCity’s 1-0 win over Newcastle
it was Arsenal’s turn to keep pace with the Premier League champions. After starting the new campaign with a
2-1 win over Nottingham Forest
Arsenal tried to keep their winning streak going on the short trip to south London at Selhurst Park.
The home side made their intentions clear from the start: Ayew ran on to Tomiyasu and delivered a fine cross, but the ball was pushed away by Aaron Ramsdale before it could reach any of Palace’s attackers. Eddie Nketiah almost opened the scoring after a beautiful turn near the opponent’s penalty area, leaving two defenders behind, but his shot hit the post and was deflected. Just before the break, Johnston made an incredible save from Ødegaard’s shot from outside the box.
Note that two injured Brazilians did not take part in the match. Matheus Franca, bought by Palace from Flamengo, and Gabriel Jesus, a striker from Arsenal.
In Arsenal’s starting line-up, on the left flank, Brazilian Martinelli came on. In the first round, he provided an assist, but in this game he failed to stand out with any real action. Yes, he was active, he took shots on goal, he crossed for corners, but… In the 69th minute, he was replaced by Brazilian defender Gabriel.
This rotation was linked to the departure of Arsenal left-back Tomiyasu. The Japanese player received two yellow cards in seven minutes. Although both of the referee’s decisions were controversial. In the first, Kai Havertz had the ball on the sideline for 15 seconds before handing it over to Tomiyasu, who was looking for runners and, just as he was about to take the throw-in, the referee warned him with a yellow card. The full-back then grabbed Ayew and received a second yellow.
Playing with one player less for half an hour is a difficult task. The visitors were lucky to be in the lead at that point. In the 51st minute, Nketia entered the goalkeeper’s area, and the hosts’ goalkeeper, Johnston, fouled the striker. The penalty was taken with confidence by Odegaard – 1:0.
Crystal Palace laid siege to Arsenal’s gates, but only created three really dangerous moments. In the 72nd minute, Eze confused Rice with his tricks and went down in the penalty area. The referee didn’t give the penalty. In the 86th minute, Edouard failed to get his head on the ball accurately, after getting in the goalkeeper’s way. In the 95th minute, Ramsdale came out of his goal but couldn’t get his hands on the ball. He passed to Mitchell, but the defender missed the empty net, sending the ball into the stands.
After the match, Arteta spoke about the removal:“These are the (new) standards, I don’t know exactly how long…”, said Arteta when informed that his players took 23 seconds to make the throw. “No, it wasn’t. I think it was eight seconds. Maybe we’ll have to play with a stopwatch. Everything’s fine, we won the game, I’m happy. The new rules are one thing, the way they are communicated is very different, but we will adapt” he added.
Referees have been instructed to control time wasting and dissent this season, and the effect is already visible with 18 yellow cards shown for dissent and 14 for time wasting in the first two rounds. For the sake of comparison, 174 yellow cards were shown in the whole of last year’s season, and with 32 cautions already being handed out; at the current rate, up to 608 yellow cards could be shown this season.
“I understand that Arsenal are unhappy with the two yellow cards, and I’m sure I would be too,” said Palace manager Roy Hodgson, showing empathy for Arteta.