Patrick Vieira was seconds away from stunning Arsenal on his return to the Emirates, only to be denied in the cruellest fashion. His Crystal Palace side had overturned Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s eighth-minute opener, dominating the game thereafter and scoring fine goals through Christian Benteke and Odsonne Édouard in the second half. Then, with the game’s final action, Alexandre Lacazette poached an equaliser that will break the visitors’ hearts and leave Arsenal thanking their lucky stars. In the touchline meeting between two ex-Arsenal linchpins, Vieira had comfortably bested Mikel Arteta and should have departed with all three points.
Vieira was serenaded as the teams prepared for kick-off, responding with a wave to both sets of fans. Earlier, his name had been cheered loudly upon being read out over the public address system. Arsenal’s decorated ex-captain never represented them inside this arena, which has sorely missed winners of his stature. In his ninth game managing Palace, he was tasked with demonstrating that the hosts would have to wait even longer before feeling they might hold a candle to his generation.
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