Reuters
London, August 16: An own goal from Damien Delaney handed Arsenal a 2-1 victory over Crystal Palace in the Premier League at Selhurst Park here Sunday.
Having been pegged back before halftime, the Gunners secured all three points just before the hour as Delaney handed the visiting side its sixth successive win over Palace.
Olivier Giroud netted his first goal of the campaign after 16 minutes to give Arsene Wenger’s side the lead with a superb finish, before Joel Ward recorded the second Premier League goal of his career to level things up.
Arsenal’s advantage was restored 10 minutes into the second half as Delaney diverted Alexis Sanchez’s header beyond Palace custodian Alex McCarthy.
Home debutant Connor Wickham wasted a late chance to earn Palace a point, while the introduction of loanee Patrick Bamford preceded a late rally in which Jordon Mutch and Ward went close.
But Arsenal held firm to get its first points of the campaign, helping to atone for the 2-0 home reverse against West Ham.
In a Premier League game late Friday night, Adnan Januzaj reminded Manchester United fans of his class as his 29th-minute goal earned them a 1-0 win at Aston Villa.
One fine team move proved to be decisive for the Red Devils. Juan Mata slid a delightful probing ball into the box and Januzaj ghosted away from his marker and turned Micah Richards neatly before slotting the ball into the far corner via a deflection.
Van Gaal said he started with Januzaj because ‘he showed in the preparation a lot of good things and I want to try him in his favourite position as a number 10’.