Arsenal secured yet another Premier League victory, this time a 4-1 success over Crystal Palace, enabling them to stretch their lead at the top of the table to eight points, albeit having played a game more than Manchester City.
With the Gunners exiting Europe just three days before, it was a much-needed win that boosts their title ambitions and a few players certainly improved from the tie against Sporting CP that’s for sure.
Defender Rob Holding came in for William Saliba and was superb. He received a Sofascore rating of 7.3/10 for his efforts, making five clearances, two tackles and winning a whopping 11 out of 15 duels, proving that after some criticism in midweek, he more than deserves his role at the club.
It might prove to Mikel Arteta he can still be of use to the team, although it was a late cameo by Kieran Tierney which potentially could have saved another defender’s career at the Emirates.
How did Kieran Tierney perform against Crystal Palace?
The left-back was among the substitutes for the match but came on for Oleksandr Zinchenko with 25 minutes to go, and he looked bright.
In the past, the Scot has found it difficult to stand out in that inverted role that the Ukrainian has thrived in, but on this occasion ,he was outstanding.
The former Celtic man received a Sofascore rating of 6.8/10 and won two of his four duels and completed 16 passes, which included a late goal involvement.
Indeed, it was his assist from which Bukayo Saka netted his second goal of the afternoon, pulling the ball back from the left-hand side for the Englishman to drill home and give the Gunners a 4-1 victory.
It hasn’t exactly been the best of seasons for Tierney. He has completed 90 minutes on just four occasions this term, being used as a substitute in his other 15 fixtures and this is mainly due to the form by Zinchenko, who has made the left-back slot his own.
The 25-year-old has been attracting interest from fellow Premier League club Newcastle United due to his lack of minutes, although it appears that Arteta wants to keep him at the Emirates for the long haul.
He has made over 100 appearances since joining in 2019 for £25m, winning the FA Cup in 2020 and has established himself as a fan favourite.
With just ten league matches to go, it’s clear that the Spaniard will need to utilise his whole squad if he wants to secure the club’s first title since 2003/04 and Tierney’s performance yesterday may have just been a key moment in his Arsenal career.
