Arsenal are starting to look like a club in crisis after Sunday’s match against Crystal Palace. The Gunners took a commanding two-goal lead in the opening ten minutes but shipped two at the other end via some poor defending.
The night was further tainted by Granit Xhaka’s abhorrent behaviour. Arsenal must get organised on defence and create better chances on attack in order to avoid missing the Champions League yet again.
Arsenal Drop Point to Crystal Palace
From Red Hot to Fizzling Out
Fans had a right to feel excited before kick-off. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Alexandre Lacazette and Nicolas Pepe all started up front and Kieran Tierney took his rightful place at left-back.
Add in the fact that they were at home and everything looked set for three points. Two corner kicks early in the first half confirmed this belief as the Gunners turned both in to take a commanding lead.
Even from open play Arsenal bossed Crystal Palace around the park and were in total control. The tide began to turn, however, when Wilfried Zaha went down in the box.
Calum Chambers, the guilty party, really didn’t need to bring down the winger. Both Sokratis Papastathopoulos and Matteo Guendouzi were in the area to provide backup to the endangered Englishman.
That makes his decision to throw out a leg to desperately try and win the ball a mental error. He wasn’t fully aware of his surroundings and from the spot Luka Milivojevic made Arsenal pay.
Things got even worse when a James Mcarthur cross found the head of Jordan Ayew at the far post. Neither David Luiz nor Bernd Leno tracked the ball in flight and the striker took his free header well.
If a defender or goalkeeper gets beaten to a ball, it’s just part of the game. However, in this instance, the two players were just switched off for a moment, not expecting the ball that got played.
Typical Mistakes by Arsenal against Crystal Palace
This woeful defending was further accentuated by a dearth of creative play. Both goals came from corners and the third, wrongfully disallowed strike came the same way. From open play, there were few moves which seemed destined to produce a goal.
With the players on the pitch on the day, it is confusing that they rarely troubled the visitor’s net. While they are to blame, at least partially, this is a pattern which only reared its head since the appointment of Unai Emery.
Even during the darkest days of Arsene Wenger’s final season in charge, there was at least some attractive attacking play. When Arsenal played Crystal Palace on Sunday, however, there was yet again little to no attacking creativity.
This is a pattern which keeps repeating this season. Last year, almost the same thing happened. The result? A collapse in the spring lead to a fifth-place finish after Arsenal deviated back to their norm.
For the Gunners to regain a place in the Champions League, and for Unai Emery to save his job, this will have to change.
VAR Controversy
The disallowed goal would have papered over the cracks of a poor performance. It would have also kept the club within touching distance of fourth-place Chelsea. However, VAR once again proved it is an imperfect technology at the present time.
The video replay shows the contact that Calum Chambers made was minimal and incidental. It really should not have been overturned and hopefully in the future such mistakes will not repeat.
However, it was a sort of fitting end to the match that Arsenal could not top Crystal Palace. The Gunners weren’t as organised, unified or lethal as they should have been yet again.
Xhaka Out?
Probably what will stick in the minds of supporters more than the goals or performance is Granit Xhaka’s outburst when being substituted. Much like the Laurent Koscielny situation from the summer, this is down right embarrassing for Arsenal.
It will surely have a ripple effect which will play out over the coming days. Even Unai Emery, who defends the player so often, admitted, “his reaction was wrong.”
This ostensibly seems to mean that Arsenal will find a new club captain. It may also mean the end of Xhaka’s career in north London, depending on the exact reasons for his outburst.
Perhaps it was just a temporary reaction to criticism from supporters. Then again, there may be much more to the story that will come out in the coming days or weeks. Anyway, this incident embodies the current edition of Arsenal FC: one which seems to fight with itself each match and struggle to find results.
Again, if the Gunners wish to have a good season and if Unai Emery wishes to save his job, this pattern of repetition will have to stop.
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