Aubameyang scored at the 12th minute after being put through by Lacazette for Arsenal’s only goal against Crystal Palace in the early kick-off of this weekend’s round of games.
Arsenal dominated the early exchanges and got rewarded for their pressure after Lacazette’s wonderful hold-up play saw him make enough room to slide a through-pass to Aubameyang who broke Palace’s defence with pace and slotted the ball to the bottom left corner beyond the reach of the stretching goalkeeper.
Palace responded well and took control of the game in front of their fans. For larger portions of the game, they had the larger share of possession and continued in the second half.
Jordan Ayew equalized for Palace in the second after his shot was widely deflected off the David Luiz’s shin leaving goalkeeper Bernd Leno chasing the wind as the ball floated into the net.
Aubameyang was sent off for a dangerous challenge which caught Max Meyer on the left ankle. The referee had immediately called yellow but after a long VAR consultation, yellow turned red and Aubameyang received his marching orders. The Gabon international looked genuinely apologetic though, so if Arsenal were to appeal the red card, a 3 match ban may yet be reduced to just one.
Palace were lucky to end the game with 11 men as the story could have been different had the Referee deemed a rough challenge later on by James Tomkins on Martinelli card-worthy.
Earlier, James went close to giving his side all three points as well as Arsenal’s Nicholas Pepe, the Ivorian hitting the post with a low and powerful shot from an acute angle which left the goalkeeper for dead.
The Gunners will be without top-scorer Pierre Emerick Aubameyang when they face Chelsea.
Arsenal remains 10th on the log while Palace holds on to 9th position.
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