Crystal Palace 1-2 Arsenal: Instant reaction

Arsenal weren't totally at the top of their game today, but even so it was just barely enough to beat Crystal Palace 2-1. A penalty for Santi Cazorla and a rebound tap-in for Olivier Giroud in the first half were enough to get the three points, though a late Glenn Murray goal and even later Glenn Murray almost-goal made things pretty nervy at the end.

All around, Crystal Palace may have played the better game, but for the most part (aside from that damn Glenn Murray!) they lacked the final ball or final touch to do anything with it.

But hey, we won, and since Chelsea drew and Manchester United lost, the league table looks a little better today than it did yesterday. That's definitely enough to make this a good game in my book. A couple more goals and some better defending would have made it better, but I'm happy to take what I can get.