Sunday 9th of August. The opening game of the season for Arsenal, against West Ham United at the Emirates. Prior to kick off, Arsenal fans all over were confident - not simply about the game itself, but also regarding the prospect of mounting a serious challenge for the Premier League title itself. "This is our year!", shouted one supporter as he made his way to the stadium via Hornsey Road. It was only after the game, however, that this supporter, and many around the world, crashed right back down to earth.
West Ham 2 Arsenal 0 - Optimism took a real hit. As did the team themselves, who just didn't turn up. Arsenal were unusually predictable, ridiculously narrow and defensively fragile. They were making Slaven Bilic's West Ham look like Barcelona. Fast forward one week, and a different story emerges at Selhurst Park, where the North London club are playing Crystal Palace. With a grittiness which Arsenal are often criticised for not having, the Gunners saw off their London rivals with a slender, hard-fought but deserved 2-1 win.
From frustrating to impressive in a week
The first 20 minutes of the game was anything but gritty, however, as Arsenal hit the Eagles with wave after wave of pressure. It was a completely different performance to the week before; Arsenal were unpredictable, used the flanks effectively and were solid defensively. In the 16th minute, Olivier Giroud scored a brilliant scissor-kick, which put the visitors 1-0 up, after an equally brilliant assist from Mesut Özil.
By the 25 minute mark, Arsenal should've been at least 3-0 up, but the returning Alexis Sánchez couldn't convert either of his chances. Then, on the 28th minute mark, Palace struck back, from an excellent, 20-yard strike from defender Joel Ward. After the break, it was end-to-end, with both teams having a real go at each other. It was Arsenal, however, who got the third, and most precious, goal. After Hector Bellerín was fed the ball on the right-wing, he played a delicate ball into the opposition box, finding a leaping Sánchez, whose header was diverted in via Palace captain Damien Delaney. Arsenal then saw the game out, despite Palace's heavy pressure towards the end.
A hard-fought victory but Özil was the star of the show
Despite good performances from Francis Coquelin - although he could have easily seen red in the second 45 - and Sánchez, it was Özil who undoubtedly impressed the most. After a lacklustre display against the Hammers, the German international was an instrumental figure this time around, excelling in his much-preferred central-attacking midfield position. The midfield maestro made 55 passes, 54 of which were completed. That's a total of 98% pass accuracy! Not just that, though; he was a joy to watch, gliding past defenders as if they weren't there.
The crowning moment, however, was his assist for Giroud. With the Frenchman placed in the box, with three or four Palace bodies surrounding him, Özil played a perfect ball into the box, which was finished off emphatically by Giroud. It was the sort of ball the player was bought for - a world-class assist from a world-class player. More of them and this could easily be an even better year for the silky German, who continues to improve under Arséne Wenger despite constant criticism.