Arsenal vs Crystal Palace 19/20

Updated: Aug 4, 2023

Hi Everyone, Hope your all well On Sunday 24th of October I went to Arsenal vs Crystal Palace at the Emirates stadium with my mum. I went there last season so we knew where we had to go. We found parking literally 2 minutes away from the stadium which was really good. One of my friends Harry supports Arsenal so we met him before the match. He took us around the outside of the stadium including in the Arsenal shop which was horrible as I was the only Palace fan in there😂. When it was time to go in it was easy to find our entrance, before we went to our seat my mum got some food before the game started. We didn’t sit in the same spot as last time it was round a bit but I thought it had a better view as you could see the whole pitch. The only downside was we were right next to the Arsenal fans. The game started at 4.30 and it was a very windy day. Andros Townsend was our only change since the Man City game, this was his first start in a while. We had an early chance in the 5th minute with Townsend finding McArthur on the edge of the box, he was able to direct a header towards the goal but the Arsenal’s goal keeper made a comfortable save. After this, the game went downhill for us, we conceded 2 goals in 3 minutes, they both came from corners which weren’t dealt with by our defence but mainly our keeper. This wasn’t the ideal start for us. Obviously this all gave Arsenal confidence for the next part of the game. They had a chance in the 11th minute, but after a save from Hennessey they were denied their 3rd goal. Being at the game was hard at the beginning to see us concede 2 quick goals but the Palace fans still continued to show their support for the whole game. Palace had a chance in the 22nd minute which came from Townsend being able to send the ball into the box but again the Arsenal keeper was able to deal with it. In the 30th minute Zaha used his skill to get into the box where he was met with Chambers dangling leg and he went to ground. The ref decided it was a free kick to Arsenal and booked Zaha for ‘diving’!!! He must have been watching a different match because it was an obvious penalty. VAR then got involved and told the ref it was a penalty thank god for VAR because if that wasn’t in place Wilf would have been punished for a foul on him. So we had a penalty rewarded to us and the captain Luka Milivojevic stepped up as usual and netted the ball sending the keeper the wrong way. Was Palace back in the game? Also VAR overturned Zaha’s yellow card due to him winning the pen. This gave palace a bit of momentum to create some more chances. There was 3 minutes added on, during this time we created a chance for PVA but Arsenal’s keeper was able to make a save to stop the ball from hitting the back of the net. It was then half time. The second half started slowly, with neither teams creating too many chances. Until possibly the best part of the game for the Palace players, in the 53rd minute, Zaha, was able to pass the ball down the wing to McArthur, who was then able to cross it into the box onto the head of Jordan Ayew, he was able to put the ball past the keeper into the back of the net making it Palace 2 - Arsenal 2!!! There was a smoke bomb let off by the fanatics during the celebrations. The next piece of action was actually not part of the game, instead it was when Xhaka (Arsenals captain) was subbed and booed off by the majority of the home fans, he then reacted by telling the fans to f-f*ck off, cupping his ear, removing his shirt and going down the tunnel, this must be horrible for a player to hear his own fans booing him, I’m not entirely sure what had happened to bring it on, it still doesn’t really give him an excuse to swear at the fans after being giving the captains armband. Throughout the rest of the match all of the noise came from the away end, with the Palace fans showing their support in numbers. Arsenal were able to create many chances in the second half after waking up, they were not able to take any of them, which was good for us! In the 69th minute Arsenal won a free kick on the edge of the box, which Pepe took. After he had scored 2 in a similar position midweek in the Europa league it was very nerve wracking for the Palace fans, it wasn’t the same against us and the attempt went over the bar. Palace also created some chances, but we also were unable to take them. Roy made our first change in the 81st minute replacing Ayew with Benteke. There was some late drama in the 83rd minute as Sokratis was able to find the back of the net making it 3-2 to Arsenal, the Arsenal fans who were right near us started celebrating which annoyed the Palace fans, however, to our delight VAR was getting involved again. At the time nobody had any idea what was going on, there was a sign on the screen saying “VAR CHECKING GOAL”. After about 5 minutes of waiting the ref picked the ball up from the half way line, blew his whistle and indicated it wasn’t a goal. As you can imagine the away end exploded, it was like we had scored a goal 😂. I’m still not entirely sure what happened for the goal not to stand. After this many Arsenal fans began to leave, which in doing so got a lot of stick from our fans. For the next part of the game all you could hear was “VAR my lord VAR” ringing around the away end, after VAR had gone our way once again :). The majority of the game, after this, was very tense, as we didn’t want to come away from the game with nothing. There was 5 minutes added on after the game, the ball was mainly with Arsenal and every time they conceded a corner it was extremely nerve wracking to watch, especially after what happened early in the game. Our second sub wasn’t made until the 94th minute with McCarty coming on for Kouyaté. In the final minute of extra time Arsenal won a corner, luckily it was dealt with and headed clear to Zaha. Wilf was able to clip the ball past Guendouzi however he was met by a rugby style tackle taking him out. In my opinion if he had not don't that Wilf was through on goal, so it should have been a red card, instead it was only a yellow and a free kick was awarded to us. As soon as we kicked the ball the final whistle was blown and the game was over. It was Palace 2 - Arsenal 2. The Palace fans were much happier then the Arsenal fans as they had just seen their team blow a 2-0 lead and only pick up 1 point. The stadium was dominated by the Palace fans, I didn’t end up leaving until 10 minutes after the game ended, as there were so many people leaving, it was really busy. The fanatics were the last to leave, they were still singing their hearts out, showing their support. On the way out we checked the Disabled toilet again, we were disappointed as it was just a basic disabled toilet with the only adaptation being hand rails. I was reliably informed by my friend that the Arsenal home disabled toilet has a hoist and bed!!!!