Aubameyang scores opener, sent off via VAR in Arsenal draw at Crystal Palace

Updated: May 17, 2023, 05:17 am

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored a goal and was later sent off as Arsenal drew 1-1 against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park on Saturday.

Aubameyang opened the scoring for the visitors before Andre Ayew's deflected goal in the second half rescued a point for Palace.

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The Arsenal captain was dismissed after an hour for a challenge on Max Meyer. The referee originally gave the striker a yellow card but VAR upgraded the decision to a red card.

Palace supporters had protested against VAR in the first half and unveiled a banner which read: "Killing the passion. Killing the atmosphere. Killing the game. End VAR now."

"The first 35 minutes is exactly what I want our Arsenal team to play like," Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta told the BBC. "After that we started to give free-kicks and give balls away.

"In the first 15 minutes of the second half, credit to them because they pushed. We switched off completely for the goal and that's unacceptable."

The result sees Arsenal remain in 10th position in the table, one point behind Palace.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was sent off as Arsenal held on to draw against Crystal Palace.
Getty

Aubameyang scored his 16th goal of the season after 12 minutes when he finished off a wonderful team move which consisted of 18 passes.

Arsenal dominated possession in the first half but the hosts started off much better after the break and equalised after 54 minutes when Ayew's shot was deflected off David Luiz and looped over Bernd Leno.

Aubameyang was sent off 10 minutes after the equaliser and both sides had chances to win the game late on.

James Tomkins saw his header cleared of the line by Sokratis Papastathopoulos while Vicente Guaita produced a stunning double save to deny Nicolas Pepe and Alexandre Lacazette.

"We're frustrated not to get the win, but in the first half they were very good," Palace defender Gary Cahill told BT Sport.

"It was difficult to deal with their pace and movement. When we got to grips with the game we did well. We're doing OK, but we need to keep pushing and keep working hard."