PAPA POWER
Sokratis' celebratory knee slide - after slamming in what he thought was the winner - looked like being the defining image of this game. But his show of emotion was premature. That said, the late intervention of VAR shouldn't detract from what was an imposing performance from Sokratis. He marked his 50th game for the first team with the opening goal, firing a shot into the ground and past Hennessey, and he almost beat David Luiz to the final touch for our second goal. Sokratis was at his bullish best away from the Palace penalty area, winning towering headers and crunching challenges. He relished the physical battle against Palace - and can feel hard done by that he wasn't our match winner.
VANQUISHED BY VAR
When Zaha went down in the penalty are on Sunday, the first reaction of many in the press box was "penalty". So it wasn't a surprise - or felt like an injustice - when VAR intervened to award Palace a penalty and rescind Zaha's yellow card for simulation. But Sokratis' late 'winner'? Much more inconclusive. VAR did its thing again - to Arsenal fans' dismay - but there was confusion at Emirates Stadium as to why the goal was ruled out. For a while we thought that Lacazette was offside, but it eventually transpired that Chambers was penalised for a push. A simple fix would be to take a leaf out of rugby's book and add details of the infringement to the VAR decision graphic.
TIME FOR TIERNEY
Kieran Tierney has had to wait patiently for his chance in the Premier League, but it came on Sunday. Our summer signing from Celtic became the 200th Scottish player to make an appearance in the competition, and his performance was one of the positives for us on an ultimately disappointing day. Tierney was neat and tidy on the ball, typically tenacious in his defensive duties and got forward to good effect. Tierney's average position was significantly more advanced than his fellow full-back Calum Chambers in the first half, and he showed some neat touches in the final third. Overall, Tierney slotted in comfortably and got a well-deserved ovation when he made way for Sead Kolasinac late in the game.
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