Crystal Palace 2 Arsenal 2: Milivojevic on the spot as Gunners' winning run ends

Arsenal was denied a 12th straight win in all competitions as Luka Milivojevic scored a second penalty of the match for Crystal Palace.

Published : Oct 28, 2018 21:33 IST

Crystal Palace captain Luka Milivojevic
Crystal Palace captain Luka Milivojevic
lightbox-info

Crystal Palace captain Luka Milivojevic

Luka Milivojevic twice held his nerve from the penalty spot as Granit Xhaka went from hero to zero in Arsenal's 2-2 draw at Crystal Palace.

The Palace captain was denied from 12 yards by Jordan Pickford in last weekend's defeat at Everton but stepped up to put Roy Hodgson's struggling side ahead in first-half stoppage time.

Wayne Hennessey could only touch Xhaka's venomous free-kick into the top corner six minutes after the restart and the Palace goalkeeper just failed to prevent Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang from turning home his ninth of the season at the back post.

The ball was turned Aubameyang's way when Alexandre Lacazette clearly handled a right-wing corner, meaning there was a sense of justice being done when Xhaka - playing in an unfamiliar left-back role - crudely brought down Wilfried Zaha and Milivojevic denied Arsenal a 12th consecutive win.

Zaha was the familiar inspiration for Palace's promising start – cutting inside Shkodran Mustafi to drive against the base of the post before his impudent flick released Patrick van Aanholt, Andros Townsend shooting wastefully wide from the left-back's 16th-minute cross.

Arsenal settled and Hector Bellerin's hesitation in the Palace box allowed a combination of Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Mamadou Sakho to make a goal-saving block.

Mustafi's defending was not so judicious in the final minute of the half as he needlessly lunged in on Cheikhou Kouyate, leaving Milivojevic to atone for his Goodison Park woe.

The Palace skipper was culpable when Arsenal drew level, clumsily bringing down Lucas Torreira on the right-hand corner of the box for Xhaka to perform his dead-ball heroics.

Aubameyang showed supreme poaching instincts five minutes later, at which point Palace's anger was directed towards Lacazette's handball.

Palace substitute Max Meyer cracked a shot against the outside of the near post but Arsenal was holding out effectively until Zaha preyed on Xhaka's discomfort seven minutes from time.


What does it mean? Arsenal's winning run ends

Unai Emery was unable to mastermind a 12th straight win in all competitions for Arsenal, although his team again showed commendable spirit in recovering from a slow start to a match. The challenge is now to drop that habit before it does it damage when Liverpool visits Emirates Stadium next Saturday. Battling qualities were evident from both sides, with Palace deserving to avoid a fourth consecutive Premier League defeat.


What's next?

Palace travels to Middlesbrough in the EFL Cup on Wednesday before another daunting all-London clash at Chelsea on Sunday, while Arsenal is likely to be much-changed for its next dose of cup action against Blackpool on Wednesday ahead of Liverpool's visit.

Sign in to unlock all user benefits
  • Get notified on top games and events
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign up / manage to our newsletters with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early bird access to discounts & offers to our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide to our community guidelines for posting your comment