[Player Ratings] Arsenal 2-3 Crystal Palace - Gunners Waste Chance To Go Third

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Arsenal’s top-four aspirations were dented after a shock 3-2 home defeat to Crystal Palace.

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Team News – Player Ratings – Match Highlights
Match: Arsenal v Crystal Palace
Stadium: Emirates Stadium
Kick-Off (UK Time): 16:00 21/04/2019
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It was a vital match for Arsenal and one which they started well. Mesut Ozil squandered an early opportunity inside the opening minute.

It felt like that would the first of many opportunities Arsenal would create on the day but it soon became clear that wasn’t the case. The Gunners’ buildup was slow and one particularly lethargic tackle from Dinos Mavropanos led to a cheap free-kick and the frst yellow card of the game.

It was from that free kick that Palace’s Luka Milivojevic swung the ball into the box and onto the head of Christian Benteke. The Belgian forward hadn’t scored in over a year but put a strong header past Bernd Leno.

Arsenal did respond. Slowly. The speed of their buildup play increased as the Gunners grew in influence. The home side probably should have been awarded a penalty when a Sead Kolasinac cross rebounded off Aaron Wan-Bissaka and went behind. Arsenal appealed for a handball and replays showed that the ball clearly hit the defender’s arm.

Something needed to change at halftime and Unai Emery did just that. Carl Jenkinson and Dinos Mavropanos were replaced by Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Alex Iwobi.

The impact was immediate as Iwobi found Alexandre Lacazette who turned and cut a ball through for Mesut Ozil. The German was forced a little side and as we have seen him do so many times, bounced the ball into the floor and past the goalkeeper to equalise inside 2 minutes of the second half.

It felt like a turning point in the match for Arsenal. The equalising goal should have driven the Gunners on to grab a second and hopefully win the match but that wasn’t what happened.

It looked like a simple ball over the top for Shkodran Mustafi to clear, but the German attempted to shield it for his goalkeeper. In doing so, it allowed Wilfried Zaha the chance to burst clear and make it 2-1.

Things got worse for a shellshocked Arsenal when, just a few minutes later, the visitors made it 3-1. Milivojevic whipped a corner in Scott Dann’s flicked header fell for James McArthur to score.

It was a real low point for Arsenal and a moment of inspiration was needed to provide a route back into the match. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang duly delivered but misplaced his pass after a mazy run. The ball came straight back to the Gabon international and he made it 3-2 with a fine finish.

The stage was set for Arsenal to throw everything at their opponents but the Gunners were left frustrated and went away empty-handed from a match they should have won.

Here’s how we rate the Arsenal players:

Bernd Leno – 6

It’s hard to be too critical of Bernd Leno despite the three goals he conceded. The German stopper did produce an impressive double save with the score at 1-0.

Carl Jenkinson – 5

A poor 45 minutes from Carl Jenkinson. The full-back couldn’t seem to get the ball under control at times, gifting possession away on far too many occasions.

Sub: Ainsley Maitland-Niles (45′) – 6

Ainsley Maitland-Niles did well off the bench. His defensive work was impressive and had a couple of decent crosses down the right flank.

Shkodran Mustafi – 3

It was an embarrassing performance from the defender. Shkodran Mustafi shouldn’t draw all the criticism for Palace’s goals today but he certainly deserves the blame for at least one. He made a grave error for the second Palace goal and lost his man for the opener.

Laurent Koscielny – 6

Laurent Koscielny defended well enough but there’s only so much he could have done today.

Dinos Mavropanos – 6

He had a few moments of quality but his match will be remembered for that silly free-kick and the resulting goal. Dinos Mavropanos defended well enough and had a good foray forward which resulted in a shot but a more attacking lineup was needed.

Sub: Alex Iwobi (45′) – 6

It was a lively cameo from Alex Iwobi. He really quickened the pace of the Arsenal attack but should have done so much better with that chance.

Sead Kolasinac – 5.5

Sead Kolasinac had a tough afternoon. He kept hold of the ball and defended well enough but just couldn’t get past Aaron Wan-Bissaka down that left flank to attack.

Mohamed Elneny – 4.5

He offered very little. Mohamed Elneny just couldn’t link up well enough with the Gunners’ attack. Arsenal’s midfield looked a lot better after the interval.

Sub: Lucas Torreira (68′) – 5.5

Lucas Torreira did improve the Arsenal midfield but was still well below his best.

Matteo Guendouzi – 5

He struggled today. Arsenal’s biggest attacking problem was that they couldn’t link their midfield and attack. The Frenchman did his best but his side lost out in the centre of the park.

Mesut Ozil – 7.5

Mesut Ozil played well. The German was the main source of creativity in attack and took his goal tremendously well. Ozil’s big undoing was that he just didn’t receive the ball regularly enough to threaten.

Alexandre Lacazette – 7.5

Another of Arsenal’s attackers who actually played very well. Alexandre Lacazette was lively throughout but didn’t quite have the luck in front of goal today.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang – 6

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was anonymous for much of the match but offered his side a route back into the match with an impressive solo goal.

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Article Name	[Player Ratings] Arsenal 2-3 Crystal Palace - Gunners Waste Chance To Go Third
Description
Author Name	Candyboy
Published On	April 21, 2019
Post Category	Arsenal