Yesterday’s game was a good opportunity for Arsenal to register a win on the first day of the season for the first time in a fair few seasons.

Although they managed it, it was less than convincing and as Arsene Wenger himself suggested, it looked as though the start of the season cam a bit early for the gunners.

Passing Problems

For me, the most notable problem for Arsenal was their apparent inability to pass the ball 5 yards.  None of the players had a great game from a passing perspective, which made it incredibly difficult to break down Palace playing the way we did.

The whole midfield had a bit of an off day and Chamberlain couldn’t pass the ball five yards when he entered the fray.  Sanchez showed some glimpses of individual genius but tended to hold on to the ball too long.  Its likely that it will take Alexis time to adapt to the pace of the league and I have no doubt the fans and management will quite happily give him that time.

Lonely Sanogo

Yaya Sanogo continues to prove a bit of a mystery for the Arsenal fans.  He had some really positive moments and contributed to some great build up play.  However, as a lone striker he just didn’t get the support a player like him required.

Against teams we ought to comfortably beat like palace, its unclear why Wenger is so reluctant to play two up front.  We saw how little Crystal Palace offered in an attacking sense so it’s certainly up for debate whether the extra man in midfield is really necessary in these games.

El Capitan

Mikel Arteta is the new club captain, which for me was an odd choice.  I would be lying if I said I wasn’t hoping to see the Spaniard replaced by a stronger holding midfielder.

Yesterday’s game did little to supress these feelings as I found myself once again questioning Mikel’s ability to really affect the game.

He’s not the strongest or the most vocal on the pitch and personally I would have preferred to see Per Mertesacker take the role.

First glimpses of Sanchez

I would be lying if I said Sanchez was far and away the best player on the pitch but he certainly showed signs of being a really special player for the club.

Firstly, I would like to give an extra special mention for ‘that chest control’ as I am calling it.  Late on in the game a ball flew across the pitch at pace to Alexis who stopped the ball on his chest.  I’ve never seen anything like it and I’m still in shock.

A few of his touches looked really special and I’m sure confident he will become a really serious player for us as he adapts to the league.

Looking forward

The most worrying sign is that the game yesterday was so similar to games in the past where we sneak past these lower table teams in a painful manner.  With the players we’ve got we need to be returning to the days of comfortably beating these teams 3-0 without faltering.

Everton away next week and we simply have to do better if we want to walk away from that game with three points.

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