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Arsenal's top four hopes took a major beating against a spirited Crystal Palace side. Christian Benteke scored after almost a year and that tells a lot about Arsenal’s shaky defence rather than Benteke’s ability. Mesut Ozil did bring Arsenal back into the game but goals from Wilfried Zaha and James McArthur took the match further away from the Gunner's reach.
After watching Manchester United lose to Everton, Arsenal fans were hoping their team could build the pressure on other teams in the top 4 race by getting the job done against Palace, but it was not to be the case as complacency and some poor finishing let the supporters down.
The Gunners will now be hoping that Burnley would help them by beating Chelsea on Monday night.
Here are the three reasons why Unai Emery's men lost this crucial match.
#1 Poor finishing
The first half saw some tired legs from the Gunners as the team was still coping from the big encounter they won against Napoli. But in the second half, Mesut Ozil and his colleagues created a lot of scoring chances but the forwards failed to capitalize on the opportunities.
Unai Emery made seven changes and that probably explains the reason behind the lack of understanding in the team. Elneny was not creative enough and Iwobi was also not clinical to have a positive impact on the game. Ozil had a great game and all threats from Arsenal were initiated by the German.
Lacazette worked very hard in the first half but lacked a little composure in the tough areas. Aubameyang had a brilliant solo effort in the second half but that was his only contribution in the game. Without Ramsey, the forward line looked disjointed and there was literally no link-up play. Emery would want to rectify the issues as soon as possible as Arsenal also have two tough away games to look forward to.
#2 Error-prone Mustafi
Shkodran Mustafi is having a terrible season and that makes it clear why Emery doesn’t start him when all other defenders are fit and ready to play. Mustafi let Christian Benteke run off him and have a free header for the first goal and he never recovered from that mistake.
He was constantly troubled by Zaha and other Crystal Palace attackers. Mustafi has never really convinced after his big money move from Valencia. His mistakes at crucial junctures of games are haunting the team in their pursuit of the top 4.
Even in the second goal which Zaha scored, Mustafi’s indecision is to blame and Emery would be hoping to pair Koscielny, Monreal, and Sokratis in most of the remaining matches to give Arsenal a chance of finishing well in the season. It seems highly unlikely that Mustafi would stay at Arsenal beyond the current season. His inability to take responsibility in big games is hurting the Gunners.
#3 Wilfried Zaha’s constant threat
If the big clubs wanted a final confirmation on the quality of Zaha before bidding for him during the season break, this was the match. He never took the pedal off the gas and was a constant presence in the dangerous areas. Most counter attacks were initiated through him and his bag of trickery was too much for Mustafi and co to handle. Mustafi had a torrid time predicting the side Zaha would go and it was the attacker's goal that put Palace into the driving seat.
Zaha wants to challenge for trophies and will surely move to a bigger club in the future, it may even be the Gunners whom he has haunted a few times now. Unai Emery got a great audition from Zaha and he will surely consider bringing him to the Emirates. Unai Emery’s immediate focus would be to win the Europa League as the Gunners have been highly inconsistent in the league campaign.
