Arsenal-Palace talking points

Olivier Giroud struck a stunning goal as Arsenal claimed a 2-0 win over Crystal Palace to move up to third in the Premier League table.

The Frenchman opened the scoring with a superb scorpion-kick strike from Alexis Sanchez’s cross in the 17th minute, with Alex Iwobi adding Arsenal’s second goal after the break.

From Giroud’s moment of brilliance to Hector Bellerin’s impressive performance, here are five talking points from the game.

Goal of the season?

Six days after Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s stunning flicked finish for Manchester United against Sunderland, Olivier Giroud produced a breath-taking version of his own. The Frenchman’s ingenious strike capped a slick Arsenal counter-attack, with an awestruck Gary Neville describing it as one of the best goals he had ever seen in the Sky Sports commentary box.

The goal immediately sparked a debate over which was better, but for the Arsenal fans around the Emirates Stadium there was only one winner. The impeccable approach play only enhanced the spectacle, and there was the extra satisfaction of Giroud’s looping finish crashing in off the underside of the crossbar.

Giroud put it down to good luck in his post-match interview, but it was enough to earn him the man-of-the-match award. The Frenchman has taken a backseat this season due to Sanchez’s excellent form, but he has now scored seven goals in just 571 minutes of Premier League and Champions League action. This was another game to underline his value to Arsene Wenger’s side.

Rare chance for Lucas Perez

It has been a frustrating start to life at Arsenal for Lucas Perez, with a combination of injuries and impressive performances from team-mates keeping him on the fringes of Wenger’s …

continue reading in source www.skysports.com