Aubameyang Sent Off As Arsenal Stumble At Palace
12 January, 2020
Result: Crystal Palace 1-1 Arsenal
Date: 11 January 2020
Venue: Selhurst Park
African superstar Pierre-Emerick Aubamyeang went from hero to villain as Arsenal dropped points at Crystal Palace on Saturday afternoon.
Mikel Arteta named the same starting line-up that secured victory over Manchester United 10 days ago, although Gabriell Martinelli replaced Dani Ceballos on the bench.
The Gunners got off to a fine start as Pierre Aubameyang latched onto a pass from Alexandre Lacazette before calmly slotting beyond Guaita to put his side ahead on 13 minutes.
It took a while for Palace to get going in the first half as Wilfried Zaha and Jordan Ayew were kept quiet by the Gunners defence for most of the stanza.
Other than a late routine save from Bernd Leno, Palace were unable to carve out any clear-cut openings although the visitors were unable to get chances of their own late in the half.
However, Palace were level eight minutes after the halftime break as Ayew found the back of the net with a left-footed strike that deflected off David Luiz, leaving Leno with no chance.
The Gunners were the reduced to 10 men after 67 minutes when Aubameyang saw his yellow card for a tackle on Max Meyer overturned to a red by the Video Assistant Referee.
Despite being a man down, the visitors went agonisingly close to restoring the lead when Nicolas Pepe rattled the upright with a low strike while Lacazette was unable to profit from the rebound.
Palace did push for a late winner in the second half, but the Gunners were able to hold out until the final whistle as the spoils were shared on the day.
Source: www.soccerladuma.co.za
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