Positives & negatives as Arsenal draw 2-2 against Crystal Palace

Both Arsenal and Crystal Palace could be forgiven for a ‘bigger fish to fry’ mindset here and the home side certainly played like a group distracted – twice surrendering the lead to draw 2-2 on Wednesday night.

Speaking pre-match, Mikel Arteta had said those who are fit and available would play and he lived up to that promise in his selection; the first XI featured just two changes – Raheem Sterling and Leandro Trossard brought in – from our 2-1 win at the Bernabeu last week.

Yet his team looked punch-drunk against the Eagles. Things got off to a brilliant start as Jakub Kiwior put Arsenal ahead on three minutes, while Trossard restored our advantage just before half-time via a deflected strike past Dean Henderson.

However, the collective effort was far less polished in the second half and culminated in a huge error from William Saliba late on. His poor pass only found his compatriot, Jean-Philippe Mateta, and the in-form Palace man produced an exquisite 30-yard lob to earn his team a point.

So, Arsenal had to settle for a point (again), and here are three positives and negatives from a strange night at Emirates Stadium.  

3 positives & negatives as Arsenal draw 2-2 against Crystal Palace in the Premier League

Positive #1: Jakub Kiwior shines again

Make the apologies as loud as the disrespect (myself included).

Fans covered their eyes in horror when Gabriel limped off against Fulham, many fearing that his loss – only a week before the Real Madrid clash – would spell the end of our joint domestic and European charge. There were even some calls for Ben White to supersede Jakub Kiwior in the backline pecking order.

But Arteta chose the Pole and he has excelled. His recent form continued on Wednesday as he dealt well with a changed Palace attack, denying former Gunner Eddie Nketiah with a magnificent block in addition to his fantastic header which opened the scoring.

One could not have wished for a more seamless transition to the first-team fold and Kiwior deserves great credit for it. He is an established Poland international for a reason and will play a big part in any success that might come this year.

Negative #1: William Saliba makes another mistake

Dear oh dear, oh dear.

Even if the performance had lacked quality, Arsenal were still just minutes away from the win and on track to consolidate their Champions League spot for next term – that was until William Saliba gifted Palace an equaliser.

The Frenchman is known for his calm, on-pitch persona but he took it to a grotesque extreme late on when his careless pass towards Martin Odegaard only found a grateful Mateta, whose delightful chip brought the visitors level.

To concede in that manner is very frustrating and even more so given how it marks a second dreadful error from Saliba in the space of a week. He is an outstanding talent but has been caught out twice in three matches for being far too casual in dangerous areas and that failure to learn may spark concern for the boss.

One or two monster-classes versus PSG and all will be forgiven.

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