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- Written by Shane Thomas
What some expected to be a comfortable win proved anything but. Crystal Palace proved awkward opponents, and Arsenal failed to get any rhythm in their passing. But the 2-0 result evinced a win of character. It's the kind of win that could prove priceless at the end of the season.
Wojciech Szczesny - 8 – He made a mess of coming for a first-half corner, which could have cost Arsenal a goal. However, he atoned for that error with two outstanding second-half saves, and played as big a part in the victory as anyone.
Bacary Sagna – 7 – The Frenchman was probably Arsenal's best outfield player. He put in a couple of superb crosses, which Olivier Giroud should have done better with. In the second-half, he did excellent jobs on both Jerome Thomas and Yannick Bolasie, and was often in the right place to cover for Per Mertesacker.
Per Mertesacker – 6 – The “BFG” didn't have his best afternoon, finding life difficult as Crystal Palace launched direct balls towards Marouane Chamakh. He's had to play a lot of games recently, and one wonders whether he's suffering from fatigue.
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- Written by Shane Thomas
This felt like something of an object lesson for Arsenal. In a very close contest, the Gunners will have thought they deserved at least a point. And yet, Borussia Dortmund had two chances, and scored them both. That demonstrates just how fierce the competition is amongst Europe's best clubs.
Wojciech Szczesny - 6 – It wasn't a poor performance from Szczesny, but he was left a bit flat-footed by Henrikh Mkhitaryan's opener. Although, he wasn't helped out by his back four on either goal.
Bacary Sagna – 6 – He found it tough going, as Dortmund pressed the right flank with intent. I give him plenty of credit for a fine cross that led to Olivier Giroud's equaliser, but he was caught out of position for the BVB winner.
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- Written by Shane Thomas
A look at Arsenal's upcoming fixtures show that it was pivotal that they won today. After some nervous moments, particularly when Norwich got the score back to 2-1, the Gunners did just that, which increasingly familiar chants of, “we are top of the league” ringing out around The Emirates.
Wojciech Szczesny - 7 – Some may criticise him for Norwich's goal, but in his defence, he was unsighted by Kieran Gibbs. And he made a series of decent saves when Norwich looked threatening towards the end of the first-half. Another solid display.
Bacary Sagna – 7 – Marshalled the right-hand side of the pitch well, although the quality of his crosses weren't as consistent as he would have liked. Defended with aplomb, however, often having to deal with both Anthony Pilkington and Martin Olsson.
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- Written by Chris Reidy
Arsenal returned to the Hawthorns just a couple weeks after a League Cup victory looking to record a twelfth consecutive away win. They were met by an energetic West Brom team who fully deserved to take a point from this game and had great chances to increase the lead they had.
West Brom, and former Arsenal player Anelka in particular, were made to pay for the missed chances as Jack Wilshere made up for a poor first half display to equalise just after the hour mark.
In all it was a fair result leaving Arsenal top of the league going into the international break.
Lack of Width
Arsenal’s starting line-up had an obvious lack of natural wide players and pace and this was to show in the first half display.
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- Written by Shane Thomas
After watching West Brom today, it's a lot easier to understand how they won at Old Trafford last week. In what's been one of the toughest matches of Arsenal's season so far, the Gunners got out of The Hawthorns with a hard-fought point after a 1-1 draw.
Wojciech Szczesny - 7 – Another solid display from Szczesny. He could do little with Claudio Yacob's goal, and made some important saves in both halves.
Carl Jenkinson – 6 – One can never fault Jenkinson's application. But his use of the ball was maddeningly poor (with a pass success of only 79%). He also failed to consistently close down crosses from his side of the pitch.
Per Mertesacker – 7 – At times he was dragged out to the right flank to cover Jenkinson. But his individual display was one of the better ones on show. He helped hold the defence together when West Brom pressed for a winner.
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