Vieira issues verdict on impact Arsenal substitutes had against Palace

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Patrick Vieira has suggested that the substitutions Arsenal made during their defeat to Crystal Palace made life more difficult for the Eagles – in comments reported by Football London.

Overall, it proved to be a miserable night for the Gunners. Mikel Arteta’s men knew that any positive result would take them back above Tottenham and into fourth spot in the Premier League.

Ultimately however, Arsenal did not start quick enough and were punished in dramatic fashion. They were 2-0 down inside 24 minutes at Selhurst Park. And they seemed to be second-best in almost every department.

They did improve after the break. Nuno Tavares was replaced by Gabriel Martinelli at half-time. Meanwhile, Eddie Nketiah came on for Cedric Soares midway through the second-half.

And Arsenal were better after the break. Nketiah hit the woodwork with a delicious effort late on. And he was arguably Arsenal’s best player while he was on the pitch.

Vieira certainly thought that Arsenal were better after the changes were made.

“They brought a few players up front and made it really difficult. We ran a lot in the second half so we knew we’d play deeper and we had to accept some dominance from Arsenal. We had to defend well, not give them space and Vince (Guaita) made some important saves,” he said, as reported by Football London.

Vieira may have loved seeing Nketiah impress for Arsenal

Vieira will feel that it was the perfect night against Arsenal. And what will be particularly encouraging for him is seeing Nketiah look quite good for the visitors.

Nketiah has been heavily linked with a move to Palace in recent months. And he is still set to be out of contract at the end of the campaign.

Ultimately, he was unable to have too much of an impact on the result. But Nketiah still managed to showcase some of his potential.