The man that lead Chile to its first Copa America title in 99 years brought his fighting spirit to the pitch in which Arsenal defeated Crystal Palace by 2-1. The Chilean striker had been looking for the back of the net consistently and found it thanks to a header of his that bounced off Damien Delaney in the 55th minute.
That goal meant the 2-1 lead for the Gunners that they would not relinquish. It was a big game for the Gunners that had suffered in their opening Premier League game against West Ham (0-2).At the end of the game, Arsene Wenger was proud of his team and hailed
"He brings a drive forward, the pressure on the opponent, goal chances," Wegner said about Alexis. "It's a typical Sanchez goal: more desire than fitness.
The striker had returned to the starting lineup after what has an action-packed summer for him with Chile in the Copa America. Also, after the team had lost against West Ham, Alexis stayed to do some sprints in the Emirates field, showing his commitment to
Sanchez is the man of the hour in
I wish we could inject every Arsenal player with the desire @Alexis_Sanchez has got. The man is simply incredible.
— Michael Gooner (@MickTheGooner) August 16, 2015
Thank God for @Alexis_Sanchez
— Arsenal News (@__arsenalnews_) August 16, 2015
YEEESSSS! I love you @Alexis_Sanchez !!! #CPFCvAFC
— Moh Haider (@ArsenalMoh8) August 16, 2015
BOOOOOOOOM! 1-2. Fantastic hunger/desire by @Alexis_Sanchez & nice finish by Delaney.
— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) August 16, 2015
RETWEET if @Alexis_Sanchez was your #CPFCvAFC man of the match pic.twitter.com/GAzMxSMBQd
— Arsenal FC (@Arsenal) August 16, 2015
Arsenal opened the scoreboard with a bicycle kick from Olivier Giroud that followed a perfect pass from Mesut Ozil. The German winger showed what he is capable of doing throughout the whole game, but it was only 16 minutes into the game that he tallied his first assist of the season.
"It's a pleasure to watch the quality of his passing and the intelligence of his passing. What I want from him more is a few more goals this season," Wegner said about Ozil that is in his third season with Arsenal.
At the same time, Arsenal's boss considered that what Giroud did to score the first goal of the team this season was nothing short of impressive. The striker showed something extra to what the coach and fans had seen in recent games.
"Look, Giroud scored a goal, was important because we had to deal with a lot of long balls," Wegner said. "He had a lot stronger performance than recently."
It was a thrilling game to watch for fans at Selhurst Park with over 24,000 fans in attendance. In the end, Wegner felt that his team passed a tough test against a team that did not make things easy for them, especially when they tied the game with a goal from Joel Ward in the 28th minute.
"I believe we have shown our strongest
The boss was happy with the outcome of the game
Boss: "This is a difficult place for teams to come and win. To get the three points could be a turning point for us." #CPFCvAFC
— Arsenal FC (@Arsenal) August 16, 2015
Wenger: "It was a mental test to see how we would respond. After we got the second goal we fought well. I am pleased." #CPFCvAFC
— Arsenal FC (@Arsenal) August 16, 2015