Crystal Palace 2-3 Arsenal: 5 talking points

#4 Christian Benteke ineffective

Crystal Palace v Arsenal - Premier League

It’s pretty obvious that without aerial service, Christian Benteke is completely useless as one of the eleven. Despite only scoring once this season, Benteke is undoubtedly one of Crystal Palace’s catalysts for change. When he plays well his teammates feed off his enthusiasm and provide off the ball movement in accordance.

Unfortunately for the Belgian striker he just wasn’t on the same wavelength with his teammates. His partner in crime Wilfred Zaha decided not to launch in many lofted crosses, most of them were instead drilled crosses.

This lack of aerial service meant Benteke was restricted to only making 14 passes, completing one dribble, missing out on 52% of his aerial duels and on top of all that, he didn’t even attempt one shot on target. The star striker was overpowered and marked out of the game by a surprisingly game Arsenal back three.