The Gunners returned to winning ways following their UEFA Champions League loss in midweek against Borussia Dortmund. Wenger was looking for the perfect response from his league topping side and that is exactly what he got from them as they came away from Selhurst Park with 3 points, courtesy of goals from Mikel Arteta and Olivier Giroud.
However, the low-light of the game was the controversial red card which captain and goalscorer Arteta received following a dubious challenge on former Arsenal man Marouane Chamakh. Shortly after opening the lead in the second half, Arteta was sent off with a straight red card after he was accused of illegally fouling and stopping the last man to go through on goal.
That decision from referee Chris Foy changed the match completely, as Crystal Palace sniffed an opportunity to draw level and what followed was a barrage of attacks from them on the Arsenal goal, only to be denied by a brilliant Wojciech Szczesny in goal. Arsenal then went on and sealed the points in the 87th minute as Giroud headed in an excellent Ramsey cross from close range .
Wenger however spoke post the game and voiced his disagreement with Foy’s decision, as Metro reported him as saying, “I honestly thought the referee got the decision totally wrong,”
“Arteta was not the last man and it has to be a clean goal scoring opportunity. Chamakh was very far from goal and the foul was an accident.”
Arsenal intend to appeal against the straight red card, but in the meantime, they are without two important holding midfielders in Arteta and Mathieu Flamini, who is out injured for three weeks. With a very difficult fixture list coming up for Arsenal in the coming month which will see them play the likes of Chelsea, Liverpool, Borussia Dortmund and Manchester United in succession, they could very much do with each and every player available.
With forwards Theo Walcott, Lukas Podolski and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain already out, they would not want any more injuries/suspensions to their squad. Do you think Arsenal will drop points in this crucial set of fixtures?