Review and ratings FT: ARSENAL 2-3 PALACE by Alfie
An abysmal result in a game we were expected to win in our difficult run in. Whilst Palace are certainly a good side with an exceptional away record, with their strong defensive unit and lethal counter-attacking style suiting their travels, there is no doubt that this can be seen as a monumental missed opportunity to cement our place in the top 4.
The starting 11 raised eyebrows, with Emery opting to rest certain players for Wednesday, in what appeared a more difficult game at Wolves. This certainly had an effect as our midfield in particular struggled to impose themselves in the first half. Elneny was insistent on playing it sideways and backwards and Guendouzi continuously lost the ball. Jenkinson showed how one dimensional he is with his own backwards passing and this lack of ability to progress the play in the first period rubbed off on our 3 centre-backs, who appeared to have little confidence in feeding the ball to our midfield. This left a large onus on Ozil dropping deep to create, where he’s often ineffective, and Kolasinac being constantly fed the ball with little output. We missed Ramsey’s energy and runs from deep, Xhaka’s expansive passing, and Monreal’s ability to win the ball high up the pitch when moves break down (which starts many of our attacks).
The introduction of Iwobi and Maitland-Niles gave us a renewed threat down both flanks, with both looking bright and this was reflected in our strong start to the second half. We got the equaliser and continued to press with more fluidity and intensity. However, this good work was completely diminished by Mustafi’s moment of defensive madness ?. The third goal included more sloppy defending and although the Aubameyang goal created a late push of momentum, the Mustafi unexplainable error was ultimately the turning point in a match which we had looked like we would go onto win. We can still make top 4 but it’s going to be far more difficult now.
PLAYER RATINGS vs Palace:
1️⃣9️⃣ Leno 8
2️⃣0️⃣ Mustafi 3
0️⃣6️⃣ Koscielny 6
2️⃣7️⃣ Mavropanos 6
2️⃣5️⃣ Jenkinson 5
0️⃣4️⃣ Elneny 4
2️⃣9️⃣ Guendouzi 5
3️⃣1️⃣ Kolasinac 5
1️⃣0️⃣ Ozil 6
1️⃣4️⃣ Aubameyang 6
0️⃣9️⃣ Lacazette 6 –
Subs
1️⃣7️⃣ Iwobi 7
1️⃣5️⃣ Maitland-Niles 7
1️⃣1️⃣ Torreira 6 –
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