It was a disappointing outing for Arsenal after their triumph over Napoli in the Europa League as they suffered a 2-3 defeat at the hands of Crystal Palace at the Emirates Stadium. Christian Benteke, Wilfried Zaha and James McArthur scored the goals for the Eagles while Arsenal tried to catch up with their south London rivals via goals from Mesut Ozil and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in the second half. However, their efforts went in vain as Roy Hodgson’s men had the last laugh and walked away with three precious points.
The Eagles opened their scoring via Benteke, who was given a free run on the goal due as Mustafi not marking him at all and he headed past Leno with ease. Ozil brought his side back into the match right after the restart, but Zaha again put Palace back into the lead with a sublime finish. The Arsenal defence once again showed their incompetence as James McArthur headed the ball into the net after an initial touch from Scott Dann. Aubameyang did his best to run through the defence and score the second goal for his side, but it was too little too late for the Gunners to steal a point from the encounter.
Here is how the Arsenal players were rated from their defeat against Crystal Palace.
Bernd Leno: 6
Was beaten thrice in the match but he was not to blame for any of the goals. The defence was outrageously sloppy on the night, and it was a disappointing outing for the whole backline.
Shkodran Mustafi: 2
To say he had an off day would be an understatement. The lack of responsibility was apparent in his approach today as he let the opposition players take advantage of his faulty positioning and dismal defending.
Laurent Koscielny: 6
Tried to do his best to cover up for his defensive partner’s lack of composure. Looked fatigued towards the end of the match.
Konstantinos Mavropanos: 5
Not an outing as per his expectation on his return to the starting eleven as he did not look fully fit. Could not do much for his side as he was substituted at half time.
Carl Jenkinson: 5
It was a total wastage of time to go in with him from the start when you have someone like Maitland-Niles. The lack of decision making was evident in his play today.
Matteo Guendouzi: 6
Had a decent second half on the back of a dull first half. Tried his best to stop Zaha throughout the match but failed ultimately.
Mohamed Elneny: 5
Not much to see from the Egyptian as he returned to the first-team action. Was substituted in the second half to bring on Torreira.
Sead Kolašinac: 6
Made some good runs throughout the match but lacked the end product. His encounter against Wan Bissaka was an entertaining one.
Mesut Özil: 6.5
Could not show much influence on the pitch. Started brightly in the second half though and brought his side back into the match with a goal.
Alexandre Lacazette: 5.5
A disappointing outing for the Frenchman other than the assist he laid off for Ozil’s goal. Was wasteful throughout the match.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang: 7
Looked like a bundle of energy whenever he had the ball. Unfortunately for him, he did not receive enough support from his teammates. Took things in his own stride and scored a solo goal after a great run from the midfield with the ball towards the end of the match.
Substitutes
Ainsley Maitland-Niles: 6
Should have started in the first place. His pace caused some trouble for the opposition defenders. Lost out to the physicality of Zaha as he let him run and grab the second goal for his side.
Alex Iwobi: 5
Nothing special from the Nigerian after he came on at the half time. Could have had a go at the goal but Vicente Guaita was equal to his task.
Lucas Torreira: 6
Did well in the limited time he had on the pitch.
