After what was an interesting opening weekend of football filled with surprising results, the Premier League moves on to week two with Crystal Palace in a strong position to show Arsenal up in yet another London derby.
Palace persevere at Carrow Road
With many Premier League fans placing the ominous ‘dark horse’ tag on Alan Pardew’s Crystal Palace side this season, the Eagles have quite a lot of expectation on their shoulders. To their credit, they started the season off with a bang against a resilient Norwich side, edging the Canaries 3-1 in a game affected by questionable refereeing decisions.
Crystal Palace started on the back foot as Norwich seemed to dominate the game for the majority of the first-half. Pardew was even quoted after the game as suggested that he picked the wrong lineup based on Palace’s performance in the first 20 minutes. Despite the performance, Norwich could not take advantage of their numerous chances and a tidy finish from Wilfried Zaha in the 38th minute left Palace with a small lead at the half.
A bright start from the Eagles saw them snatch another goal just after the half, Damien Delaney getting on the score sheet from a corner. From then on, Palace retreated and let Norwich back into the game. A 68th minute goal from Nathan Redmond set the game up for a nervy finish. However, despite a disallowed goal from Cameron Jerome, Crystal Palace eventually bagged a third thanks to a heavy push from Norwich which left them vulnerable on the counter.
The Hammers stun the overconfident Gunners
Arsene Wenger summed it up perfectly when mentioning that Arsenal underwent a “reality shock” defensively upon losing 2-0 to West Ham in their season opener. This was on top of his noting of no “convincing performances” as Wenger touched on a weak performance both offensively and defensively from his Gunners. Numerous defensive errors combined with a suspect goalkeeping performance and over-crowding of the centre of the pitch going forward left West Ham in an easy position to pick up three points.
The first-half at the Emirates saw a tight encounter where both teams were finding their feet for the new season. West Ham always looked dangerous on the counter but had to resort to that with Arsenal taking up the majority of possession. In the 42nd minute West Ham gained a free-kick in a great position which they took full advantage of. Petr Cech saw Cheikhou Kouyate find an easy, unmarked header into an empty net as Cech attempted to punch the ball out but missed completely.
Arsenal had to push West Ham offensively in the second half and did so with little success. With the likes of Aaron Ramsey, Mesut Ozil, and Santi Cazorla all pushing into the middle, the centre of West Ham’s final third became overcrowded and Arsenal never got the clear cut chances needed to score. In the 57th minute, Cech was blindsided as Mauro Zarate latched on a ball that Arsenal failed to clear. From 25-yards and without even stopping to think, Zarate took a shot that flatfooted Arsenal’s new starting 'keeper after which there was no return for the Gunners.
Looking forward
Even though the league table shows Palace to be in third and Arsenal to be in nineteenth after week one, it is hard to see that sort of imbalance in the upcoming fixture. Crystal Palace arguably struggled to put a convincing performance together against newly promoted Norwich and Arsenal received a strong wake up call from their failings against West Ham.
The Sunday game may not have a sense of predictability about it but history favours both Wenger and Arsenal. In the past two years; Arsenal have won all four encounters with Crystal Palace either 2-0 or 2-1. Wenger has never lost to Palace and Pardew has only beaten Arsenal twice out of thirteen attempts.
Key matchups
There are two very key matchups to look for on the field come Saturday as they could dictate which way this London derby will swing.
First of all, the battle between Nacho Monreal and Wilfried Zaha will have to be monitored. Zaha looked incredibly sharp against Norwich bagging a goal and causing all sorts of havoc down the right wing. Monreal conversely was part of an incredibly poor defensive effort and may have his work cut out for him marking the intensely fast Zaha. Palace may look to take advantage of offensive wing play in this aspect as Monreal may just be a step behind the young Brit. With the potential for Yannick Bolasie to return down the left wing as well, Arsenal’s full-backs may be in for a tough fixture at Selhurst Park.
The main matchup to look for down the middle of the park will involve Palace’s new star Yohan Cabaye and Arsenal’s breakout star Francis Coquelin. Cabaye was another great influence on Palace’s win against Norwich, especially going forward. The creative midfielder will have the ever-aggressive Coquelin hot on his heels throughout the match over the weekend and it may get physical.
Pardew himself said that Cabaye still has to work on his fitness and physicality after a year on the bench at PSG and, as a result, may have a tough time handling the young and fully fit Coquelin. If Arsenal limit the central attack of Palace and do not overcrowd the same area going forward then Arsenal may have the advantage pushing forward down the middle.
Team news
For Palace, as mentioned before, Bolasie may be back in the team which will be a big boost for the Eagles as they missed their star winger against Norwich. Julian Speroni will still be unavailable due to his finger injury thus giving new 'keeper Alex McCarthy another start. Other players who will still be unavailable include Kwesi Appiah, Frazier Campbell and Marouane Chamakh.
Arsenal have a couple of boosts in the form of Alexis Sanchez and Hector Bellerin. Alexis was only able to make a brief appearance off the bench due to his very recent return to training. For Sunday, Alexis will be raring to start and provide more energy to that left wing. Bellerin was left out of the West Ham game due to a muscle injury but will be back and most likely starting on Sunday. Tomas Rosicky will be unavailable for at least two months after undergoing knee surgery. Jack Wilshere is still out with his ankle injury and Danny Welbeck is nearly back to full fitness.
The verdict
As with the previous two London encounters that both ended 2-1 in Arsenal’s favour, this Sunday’s derby should be a tight game. While Crystal Palace have some bright sparks in their side, they may struggle to perform as well against more established opposition. Arsenal, on the other hand, will be looking to bounce back from a very disappointing game against West Ham. Wenger will no doubt have fired up the Gunners and will be punishing any further glaring errors akin to those seen against the Hammers. Though the immediate form may suggest a stronger Palace showing, Arsenal should have the legs to just edge their London rivals.