Gunners back on track

Olivier Giroud scored at Crystal Palace for the third straight season as Arsenal kick-started their campaign with a 2-1 win at Selhurst Park.

Several questions had been raised following a woeful performance in a 2-0 home defeat by West Ham on the opening weekend of the season. A big response was needed from the Gunners and, although their display wasn't perfect, the visitors did what mattered most and got a positive result.

Whether we will kick on from here and have a good season remains to be seen, and I still feel we are one or two new signings short of being where we need to be. But the importance of this win cannot be underestimated. It is still too early in the season to really analyse anything but starting with two consecutive defeats really would have spelled disaster for Arsene Wenger's men.

After conceding goals against West Ham we didn't look like getting back into the game at all, but against Palace we were at least showing a lot more fight and, even after their equaliser, we were pushing to try and get another goal. This was a much-improved performance but, in all honesty, still far from perfect.

Mesut Ozil and Santi Cazorla impressed for the Gunners but we still seem to lack that killer instinct up front. Giroud took his goal superbly but we need to convert our chances even better if we are to compete properly with the likes of Chelsea and Manchester City.

Arsenal started brightly and almost took the lead inside the opening seven minutes. The Gunners broke clear three on one, but Joel Ward was alert to the danger to block Alexis Sanchez's initial effort. The Chilean had another chance with the rebound but James McArthur cleared his effort off the line.

The visitors continued to look dangerous with Aaron Ramsey testing Palace goalkeeper Alex McCarthy from long range before Sanchez saw his effort blocked by the defence soon after. At the other end Yohan Cabaye shot straight at Petr Cech.

Arsenal finally got the reward for their dominance through Giroud's acrobatic goal after 16 minutes. Sanchez found Mesut Ozil, who crossed the ball for the French international to score with a scissor kick into the bottom corner. Giroud's goal meant he had scored at Palace for a third straight season.

The Gunners nearly extended their lead but Sanchez's effort was well parried by McCarthy. That miss proved costly for the visitors as Palace levelled the scores after 28 minutes. Yannick Bolasie chested the ball back to McArthur, who set up Ward to fire a shot low into the net. It was against the run of play but it didn't stop me thinking maybe it wasn't actually going to be our day.

Arsenal continued to have the better of the chances in the first half, with Santi Cazorla and Giroud shooting off target before Ramsey's strike was saved by McCarthy.

Francis Coquelin could maybe have counted himself lucky to still be on the field in the closing stages of the first half. The first yellow was debatable but he was very lucky not to be given a second one following a careless challenge as the scores remained level going in at the break.

Palace almost took a shock lead within four minutes of the restart when Connor Wickham, who was making his home debut, raced into the box to meet a superb cross from Wilfried Zaha. But, fortunately for the visitors, Wickham smashed his effort against a post.

Arsenal took advantage of that miss and regained their lead six minutes later. Hector Bellerin, who returned to the side following injury, whipped in a cross and Sanchez leapt brilliantly to head the ball goalwards via a deflection from Delaney. Not only did the goal fill me with a sense of joy and relief, but I also had the added bonus of Sanchez being my Fantasy Football captain. That was then tainted slightly when it was credited as an own goal, but what an important goal in what was turning out to be a nervy contest.

Palace tried to respond to the setback as Jason Puncheon chested the ball down before firing a low shot straight into the arms of Cech. The home supporters were then calling for Coquelin to be sent off following his tangle with McArthur but, fortunately for the Gunners, he was let off with a warning. It was no surprise to see him replaced by Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain soon after. I still rate Coquelin highly and still think he has great potential, but his start to the season has so far failed to match his impressive form from the last campaign.

Arsenal continued to try and search for a third goal but Ramsey sent a half-volley over the bar before Oxlade-Chamberlain's effort was superbly blocked by Delaney soon after. At the other end, Wickham sent a shot wide, reminding their opponents that the game was far from over.

With 15 minutes left on the clock, Arsenal captain Mikel Arteta came off the bench to make his first Premier League appearance since November. The Spanish midfielder made a key contribution in the closing minutes of the game as he recovered superbly well to make a last-ditch tackle to deny Lee Chung-Yong in the box. From the resulting corner, Ward sent his header straight at Cech.

Arsenal ended the game with a flurry, with Cazorla and Oxlade-Chamberlain both forcing saves from McCarthy, as the Gunners held on to record their third successive 2-1 win against the Eagles.

OPPOSITION'S VIEW
Palace fan James Chick believes Coquelin should have been given his marching orders and he doesn't appear to rate him very highly either. He said: "The game went pretty much the way I expected and I think Palace played well.

"My observations are that Coquelin should have been sent off but also that he's not a particularly good midfielder. There is no way Arsenal will challenge for the title with him starting in midfield. Wenger should be looking at buying a better version of him. (Laurent) Koscielny and Ozil were Arsenal's two strongest players for me."

Chick also believes his side will recover from this set-back to achieve a respectable league position, although he didn't agree with all of Alan Pardew's team selection. He added: "Bolasie for (Jordan) Mutch was a strange decision and (Lee) Chungy was an unusual sub over (Patrick) Bamford. In hindsight we should have started (Glenn) Murray but the logic of starting Wickham was sound enough. We still miss (Julian) Speroni and his return cannot come sooner.

"Based on this game and the Norwich game, I am confident we can stay mid-table."

MY FINAL THOUGHTS
I fully agree with Chick that Palace can achieve a mid-table position as they have bought wisely and are a tough side to break down. But for Arsenal this match was more about the result than anything else. A superb performance would have been a bonus but we had to make sure, above all else, that we didn't fall to another defeat after what happened against West Ham the week before. Hopefully it can be a turning point and allow us to turn this into a positive season. One thing is for sure though. We must produce a far better performance when we host Liverpool in our next league match. A win in that game and maybe, just maybe, this could be a good season for us. But if we lose, we will be hearing a lot of people saying 'same old Arsenal'. The players need to up their game and make sure this doesn't happen, so here's hoping for a superb performance against Brendan Rodgers' men.

COME ON YOU GUNNERS