Arsenal 2-3 Crystal Palace: 3 reasons why the Gunners lost the game

Modified Apr 22, 2019 07:38 GMT

Arsenal failed to take a step further in the top four race with their 3-2 loss to Crystal PalaceThe Gunners were haunted by their poor finishing

#2 Error-prone Mustafi

Mustafi put in a poor display

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.

Edited by Jidonu Mauyon