Crystal Palace manager Roy Hodgson paid a reluctant tribute to Arsenal’s backline as William Saliba, Aaron Ramsdale and co shone in a 1-0 Premier League win at Selhurst Park.
A year-and-a-half on from that 3-0 thumping at the very same venue, Mikel Arteta’s side showed just how far they have come in highly-testing circumstances in South London.
It was not a performance which will live too long in the memory; Arsenal reliant upon a lapse in Crystal Palace concentration as the razor-sharp Eddie Nketiah snaffled a penalty which Martin Odegaard converted early in the second half.
But it was difficult to avoid that famous three-word phrase as Arsenal stood strong and tall against the Palace onslaught; their sheet kept clean despite limping on with ten men for the final half hour after Takehiro Tomiyasu’s highly-controversial second yellow card.
Arsenal beat Crystal Palace with ten-men
“We worked very, very hard,” Hodgson sighs, excellent displays from Cheick Doucoure, Ebere Eze and Jordan Ayew going unrewarded.
“I thought when we had the chance to get in the ascendancy when they went down to ten men, we took that opportunity and got players forward and got the ball in and around their goal, and made them clear it as many times as we possibly could.
“You have to give Arsenal credit for their defensive organisation. They got the blocks in when they were necessary. Their goalkeeper was there also to make a few saves from the crosses.”
Aaron Ramsdale, in his first appearance since the signing of David Raya, commanded his box exceptionally in the face of countless Crystal Palace crosses. Saliba, however, was arguably the best player on the pitch. One remarkable sliding tackle to deny a goal-bound Ayew would not have looked out of place in a Paolo Maldini YouTube compilation.
‘I’m so happy’
“I’m so happy to win, always very happy to win,” beams a relieved Arteta. “But very happy in the way we won with 11 players and 10 players, and the way the team adapted. How much they wanted the win.
“The contributions from the players on the bench. The way they changed the game straight away when they came on… It doesn’t matter the circumstances, it doesn’t matter the decisions, we keep going. We want to win and find a way to win it.
“They absolutely did the job. They didn’t concede anything, apart from one cross. I think it was a wide free-kick and they had a volley, but after that nothing. And we had some good moments as well when we changed the momentum of the game, so I’m really happy.”
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