Crystal Palace hosted Arsenal at Selhurst Park for their first home encounter after easing past Sheffield United in their Premier League opener. It was expected to be a cagey affair but Arsenal scored what proved to be the winner from the penalty spot after club captain, Martin Odegaard, converted the ball from 12 yards. A Takehiro Tomiyasu red card set the stage for Arsenal to engage in Satanball, but as the saying goes, when you go to the Netherrealm, you have to behave like the demons.
Without further ado, here are the Gooner Daily player ratings for the Crystal Palace vs. Arsenal game.
Starting XI
Aaron Ramsdale: The Englishman had a relatively uneventful match, with his defense doing the heavy lifting but he had a great moment at the death getting to the ball before Andre Ayew and putting Tyrick Mitchell under pressure to blast the ball to Row Z. (7)
Ben White: Played in the heart of the defense alongside Saliba and was drafted to the right in a late tactical switch. Played very well. (7)
William Saliba: Was the defensive lynchpin of the side, making eight clearances, two interceptions, three recoveries, two blocks, one last man tackle and winning 100 percent of his duels. You know how Mikel Arteta loves when his players win duels. (8)
Thomas Partey: Started primarily as a right back but inverted really well to support the team from midfield. Put up a very disciplined performance to negate Crystal Palace’s attacking threat from the left. (8)
Takehiro Tomiyasu: Started the game well and was on the end of some poor officiating that saw him sent off. He should have known better than to commit that cynical foul on Ayew when he was already on a silly booking he recieved from a delayed throw-in. (5)
Declan Rice: Put up a dominant display in midfield, making loads of anticipations to kill off Crystal Palace attacks. (7)
Kai Havertz: Featured in several tactical positions to support the team, but lacked cutting edge when required. (6)
Martin Odegaard: Showed some nerves of steel to convert a high-pressure spot kick in a critical time of the game. (7)
Gabriel Martinelli: Was rather isolated on the left and was unfortunate to get the hook to allow Gabriel come into the side to bolster the defensive ranks. (6)
Bukayo Saka: Held onto the ball far too long when a simple pass to a teammate would have been a better option. Was interesting to see him relinquish penalty taking duties to his captain. (6)
Eddie Nketiah: Was a constant threat to the Crystal Palace defense, having two big chances in the first half that he spurned. Showed great pace to reach Martinelli’s improvised pass before Sam Johnstone to win his team a penalty. (8)
Substitutes
Gabriel: Staying on the bench for the second consecutive game and coming on to help his team defend for their lives courtesy of Tomiyasu’s red card. (7)
Jorginho: Added some stability in defensive midfield on his arrival for Nketiah. (7)
Oleksandr Zinchenko and Jakub Kiwior: Did not play enough to earn a rating. N/A
Bonus Rating
Mikel Arteta: Excellent game management and tactical acumen to re-arrange his formation to accommodate the unfortunate red card Tomiyasu received. His substitutions were on point like a needle. (10)
Sayonara.
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