Alexis Sanchez produced of a man of the match display as Arsenal won 3-2 at Crystal Palace in their penultimate match of 2017.
The Chilean international has been the subject of intense transfer speculation and could leave in January, or for free in the summer, and his recent performances have been criticised. A player that previously showed so much hunger and desire to win the ball and make the most of it, has looked far from his normal self this season so it was refreshing to see him perform how he did at Selhurst Park.
It was great to see him perform like that and long may it continue. Some fans labelled his performance as incredible and, whilst I agree it was vastly improved, I still don't think he was quite at his best. We have seen some superb displays by Sanchez since he joined the club in the summer of 2014. Don't get me wrong he was definitely the stand out player against Palace and he took his goals very well. Maybe my expectations of him are too high, but having seen him in top form I also know what he is capable of. I'm taking nothing away from his display though, he was excellent. I hope this is the start of a turnaround in form for him as he is a great player and can make key impacts on games as he showed against Palace, with two goals in four minutes to secure three points.
Both sides tried their luck from distance in the opening quarter of the match with Granit Xhaka sending a long-range shot over the crossbar, while Yohan Cabaye's effort sailed just wide at the other end.
Sanchez was looking lively and he combined well with Mesut Ozil before the latter set up Xhaka, whose shot was blocked by the Palace defence. Jack Wilshere's shot was comfortably saved by Julian Speroni soon after as Arsenal continued to create chances. But the Gunners were not to be denied as Shkodran Mustafi opened the scoring after 25 minutes. The German defender reacted quickest to calmly slot the ball home after Speroni had parried Alexandre Lacazette's effort.
Arsenal came close to increasing their lead shortly before the half hour mark as Ozil latched onto a fine through ball by Sanchez, but Speroni reacted quickly to keep out the German's effort.
Wilfried Zaha fizzed a shot narrowly wide as Palace tried to find a way back into the match before Arsenal were soon back on the attack. Lacazette showed great control and footwork to twist and turn past several defenders before firing a shot just wide.
Arsenal were unable to add a second goal before the break as Ozil burst through into the box, but his lay-off was just too strong for Hector Bellerin and when the ball was worked back in Xhaka shot straight at Speroni.
Those missed chances came back to bite Arsenal, albeit temporarily, as Palace levelled the scores within five minutes of the restart. Zaha got the better of Calum Chambers before his low ball into the box was met by an impressive first-time finish from Andros Townsend.
At 1-1 it was inevitable for some Gunners' fans to be feeling nervous that we might crumble or be forced to settle for a draw, but fortunately Jeffrey Schlupp shot into the side netting and, more importantly, Sanchez had other ideas. Lacazette controlled the ball well before teeing up Sanchez, who squeezed a great effort in at the near post to put the Gunners in front after 62 minutes.
Sanchez added a second four minutes later as he latched onto a terrific ball over the top from Wilshere and showed great control before slotting the ball beyond Speroni and into the corner of the net.
Arsenal tried to add further gloss to the scoreline late on, but Speroni produced a great save to parry Bellerin's volley.
Palace wasted a glorious chance to reduce the deficit eight minutes from time when Zaha somehow headed harmlessly wide when it looked easier to have scored.
Xhaka was forced off through injury late on as the game endured a nervy finish. Bakary Sako saw a shot deflected wide in the final minutes of normal time, but Palace made no mistake from the resulting corner as James Tomkins headed home.
Arsenal held on for victory to claim a three-point haul that sees them behind bitter rivals Tottenham by only goal difference and one point off the top four.
OPPOSITION VIEW
Crystal Palace fan Chris Williams believes it was a fair result, but was left frustrated by the performances of certain players.
Williams is, however, delighted with the job manager Roy Hodgson has done since being appointed in September and is hoping for new signings in January.
"Over the course of 90 minutes Arsenal deserved to win but from a Palace point of view it is a shame our unbeaten run of eight games has come to an end," said Williams. "Throughout the whole game Palace only troubled Arsenal during two spells, at the start and end of the second half.
"Once again Wilfried Zaha was a threat but he lacked support. If Ruben Loftus-Cheek or Bakary Sako had their shooting boots on then the result could have been different.
"I am running out of patience with Christian Benteke, I cannot see what benefit he brings the team. It seems his presence on the pitch makes us play a long ball style, but Palace are far more dangerous with the ball on the floor at our feet.
"Roy Hodgson has done a great job since arriving in September; this was only our third defeat in the last 13 games.
"We should not forget that Palace lost the opening seven games of the season without scoring a single goal; so to be 16th in the table is a mightily impressive turnaround.
"It will be interesting to see what players Roy will recruit in January. The squad needs strengthening in all departments after a disappointing summer transfer window.
"But before all that it is the small matter of Manchester City on Sunday. Wish us luck."
MY FINAL THOUGHTS
So is this a sign that Sanchez is getting back to his best? I hope so! Whether he likely leaves in January or the summer or somehow has a miraculous turnaround and stays at the club, we need the likes of him and Ozil in top form if we are to improve our season.
We reacted positively to the equaliser and didn't let it stop us from getting the points, which was good to see, and Wilshere once again had a great game. But we need to tighten things up more at the back and maybe should have killed the game off with our earlier chances before Palace even got their equaliser.
Palace have been in great form under Roy Hodgson so it had the potential to be a difficult away fixture, but we got the result and that's what matters and now we need to focus our attentions to ending 2017 on a high with victory at West Brom.
Whatever happens it has been another mixed year for Arsenal and let's keep our fingers crossed for our big stars staying and also a few new additions arriving in January. We can but hope!
COME ON YOU GUNNERS
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