Palace, who won their season opener against Norwich City 3-1, host Aston Villa on Saturday.
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An Olivier Giroud strike and a Damien Delaney own goal guided Arsenal to a 2-1 victory over Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park on Sunday. Live streaming links for the game will be available on Star Sports’ official website.
Arsenal started brightly, forcing James McArthur to hack off the line inside the first 10 minutes as Sanchez slipped a shot past Crystal Palace goalkeeper Alex McCarthy. “If we had gone two games and zero points it would be absolutely hard and we knew this would be a tricky one”, Wenger said. Palace struck the woodwork through new signing Conor Wickham shortly after the break but once Arsenal went back in front they assumed control and limited Palace to a late flurry.
“We have shown our strong response and we have shown different aspects in our game that are vital in the Premier League”, Wenger told reporters.
Skipper Damien Delaney’s unlucky own goal ten minutes into the second half proved to be the victor after the Eagles has battled back well.
Connor Wickham had missed the chance to mark his home debut with a goal, prodding against the post, and Palace paid for it when Sanchez met a stood-up Hector Bellerin cross with a firm header that Delaney could not keep out.
Crystal Palace had an opportunity to take the lead in the opening moments of the second half. After the equalizer I thought we had a lot of shape and balance.
Arsene Wenger has a highly talented group of players to call upon and has persistently struggled to find the flawless balance for his starting eleven.
Arsenal have not started a campaign with successive defeats since the inaugural Premier League season in 1992-93, and Wenger insisted that starting with back-to-back losses would have been a sizeable hurdle to navigate.
Palace manager Alan Pardew was furious with referee Lee Mason’s refusal to send off Arsenal midfielder Francis Coquelin, who avoided a red card despite several aggressive challenges when he had already been booked.
Wenger said Alexis would be “difficult to stop” once he’s on his game.
“If they can play with the same authority and intensity as they did in the first half then Arsenal, with their array of talent, must have a chance of lifting the title”.
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“At spells we played good football and moved the ball well, but if you make mistakes against top teams, you get punished”.
