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Arsenal’s four-match winning run across competitions came to an underwhelming end as they played out a dull 0-0 draw against London rivals Crystal Palace at the Emirates Stadium on Thursday.
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Having needed 30 minutes of extra time to get past Newcastle United in the third round of the FA Cup at the weekend, the Gunners’ attack lacked imagination against the Eagles as well.
Palace were arguably unlucky not to come away from this encounter with all three points.
James Tomkins hit the bar with a header and Bernd Leno was forced to dive full-length to claw out a goal-bound header from Christian Benteke in the first half. The visitors ended the half on a high after a promising start from the hosts.
The second half went much the same way as the first, with Arsenal marginally upping their game in the opening exchanges only for Palace to come back into the game and regularly threaten the Arsenal goal.
Eventually, Mikel Arteta’s men managed to secure their first clean sheet at home in the league this season, maintaining the 11th position in the league table while their opponents also stayed put at 13th in the standings.
Here are the five major talking points from Arsenal’s drab 0-0 draw at home against Crystal Palace.
#1 Arsenal are crying out for a world-class creative midfielder
Despite their recent upturn in form, it has been fairly evident for some time that the Arsenal attack has been affected by a distinct lack of creativity.
With proven goalscorers like Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette in the side, the absence of an influential playmaker in the number 10 role has adversely affected the Gunners’ chance creation. And, as a result, the number of goals they have been scoring.
With Mesut Ozil frozen out of the squad and seemingly on his way out of the club, the onus has fallen on the young shoulders of Emile Smith Rowe and Bukayo Saka to provide the missing creative spark. Summer signing Willian has so far failed to impress in the number 10 role.
Even though the youngsters have exceeded expectations with excellent attacking displays of late, Arsenal’s struggles against the well-organised Palace defence highlighted their need for a proven attacking midfielder.
As such, the Gunners can be expected to be in the market for such a player soon. If not in the current transfer window than at least when the summer transfer window comes around.
#2 Crystal Palace struggling for consistency
Positive results and disappointing defeats in equal measure in the ongoing season have left Crystal Palace hovering around the middle of the league table.
Predicting the outcome of a match involving the Eagles, who currently lie 13th in the standings, has been a tough task. There is no telling what kind of performance they might put in on the day.
This inconsistency is illustrated clearly in their recent run of fixtures. The draw against Arsenal was preceded by a defeat in the FA Cup third round. In the Premier League, a 7-0 drubbing against Liverpool and a 3-0 loss against 10-man Aston Villa were followed by a win and a draw.
The Palace squad is a decent mixture of youth and experience. But it appears that Roy Hodgson is still trying to figure out his best eleven and a suitable formation. He has experimented in both departments during the course of the season.
#3 Much-improved Arsenal defense deserves credit
Arteta inherited a free-scoring side that conceded a lot of goals. But he is currently managing one that is struggling to score but is extremely stingy at the back. Arteta's side have encountered problems at both ends of the pitch.
The Spaniard, who received a lot of praise for successfully reverting to a back three initially in an effort to add some solidity to his defense, has gone back to the conventional back four this season.
And, after a miserable start to the season, it appears that work in the training ground is paying off for the Gunners. They registered their fourth straight clean sheet in all competitions with the goalless draw against Palace.
While Bernd Leno has been excellent in goal for Arsenal, the arrival of Gabriel Magalhaes and the superb performances of left-back Kieran Tierney seem to have given the likes of Rob Holding, David Luiz, and Pablo Mari an injection of confidence this season. This has led to a much-improved Arsenal backline.
And so, even as Arsenal struggle to find the happy medium between scoring goals and keeping clean sheets, the improved performances from their defenders this season deserve a lot of credit.
#4 Packed footballing calendar starting to catch up with players
While the current football season, in its compressed form, is enjoyable for the football fan as it offers a near-constant stream of live sporting action to indulge in, it has started to take its toll on the players themselves.
The shortened time span, in addition to postponed fixtures due to COVID-19 outbreaks, means that an unprecedented number of matches have to be played in an extremely short period of time.
As a result, there has been a noticeable rise in the number of muscle injuries suffered by Premier League players. This very fixture featured a couple of key absentees as well.
Arsenal were forced to leave out two first-choice defenders in Kieran Tierney and Pablo Mari due to muscle tightness. Palace also had to make do without Jeffrey Schlupp, who was missing due to a hamstring injury.
On a brighter note, however, the home side were able to welcome back Thomas Partey after more than a month’s absence through a hamstring injury. The Ghanaian made his return to action as a second-half substitute.
#5 Arsenal are desperately missing Aubameyang’s goals
Ever since his arrival from Borussia Dortmund, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has been amongst the goals for Arsenal. His goals have also inspired his side to numerous victories, not least in the 2019-20 FA Cup.
Unfortunately for Arsenal, the supply of goals from their skipper seems to have dried up this season. This has coincided with a spell of exceptionally poor form for the North London outfit.
Mikel Arteta and the Arsenal faithful were hoping that a goal against Newcastle United last weekend would have opened the floodgates for their misfiring striker. But Aubameyang once again drew a blank against a well-drilled Palace side.
One reason for Aubameyang’s dip in form might be the fact that Arteta is struggling to find his best position. The Gabonese international has been deployed interchangeably as the striker and as a left winger this season.
Whatever is the case for Aubameyang’s misfortunes in front of goal this season, Arsenal will be hoping that he finds his scoring boots sooner rather than later. As we head towards the second half of the season, the Gunners are still on the wrong side of the Premier League table.
