Arsenal’s impressive winning run ended by Crystal Palace – but Granit Xhaka lays Emirates Stadium demons to rest

Arsenal missed the chance to make it five wins on the bounce in all competitions as they played out a goalless draw against Crystal Palace.

The Emirates Stadium clash was an uneventful one – but that’s ideal for Granit Xhaka’s sake.

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Xhaka reacted badly after being substituted off against Palace back in October 2019

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But Xhaka made some important blocks to deny Palace this time

The same fixture last season nearly spelled the end of his Gunners career as he retaliated to being booed off the pitch by fans as they struggled to a 2-2 draw against the Eagles.

It wasn’t the perfect performance from the former captain but he made things count when preventing the visitors from building attacks.

Xhaka denied Wilfried Zaha a probable goal when he made a timely block in the first half.

And the Switzerland international made an important contribution after the break when he cut out a dangerous Zaha cross which was heading straight for an unmarked Christian Benteke in the Arsenal box.

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Xhaka of course didn’t shy away from any tackles either

However, despite Xhaka’s redemption it was a drab performance from Mikel Arteta’s resurgent side, who rarely threatened.

They struggled without full-back Kieran Tierney. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was isolated for large periods on the left, although the current captain went closest for Arsenal in the first half as he stung the hands of Vicente Guaita.

But the best chances of the first half fell to Palace – Xhaka timing his slide tackle to perfection as he blocked Zaha’s effort.

James Tomkins then headed the ball onto the bar while Bernd Leno did brilliantly to scoop Christian Benteke’s goalbound header away.

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Benteke had the best chance of the match

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But Ebere Eze and Zaha were the biggest threats for Palace

Hector Bellerin fired just wide in the first minute of the second half but Palace continued to look more dangerous.

They were in a great position when Zaha found space on the right, the Ivory Coast international’s cross was on its way to Benteke but Xhaka was there to clear the danger.