Crystal Palace 3-0 Arsenal: Eight Things We Learnt

Milivojevic celebrates with Benteke – mirror.co.uk

Goals from Andros Townsend, Yohan Cabaye and Luka Milivojevic gave Crystal Palace a stunning 3-0 win over Arsenal – but what have we learnt from the game?

Palace’s compact midfield

The central trio of Jason Puncheon, Milivojevic and Cabaye were compact, the latter pressing at the right moments. Mesut Ozil was forced into wide and deep areas while Arsenal’s double pivot of Mohamed Elneny and Granit Xhaka did not provide pace or drive, unwilling to move into space when they had chances to.

Top teamwork from Townsend

The threat of Theo Walcott was quelled by Jeffrey Schlupp and Andros Townsend, who helped out his left-back, especially when central midfielders closed down further up. The winger was great defensively and his pace made him a constant threat all evening, as he had a hand in all three goals, scoring the first on 17 minutes.

Poor defending for the opener

For long kicks from Wayne Hennessey, Christian Benteke stood either on the left – giving him an aerial advantage over Hector Bellerin – or just in front of the defence – forcing centre-backs out of position. The latter happened when Gabriel Paulista half-heartedly tried to beat Benteke in the air, losing both the duel and his position, from which point Arsenal were on the back foot. Cabaye slid through Puncheon, who squared the ball for Townsend to get his deserved goal.

Arsenal’s left side

Arsenal’s better first half openings came from their left-sided combination play between Nacho Monreal and Alexis Sanchez. The latter had three efforts, one rolling just wide, one requiring a brave block from the imperious Mamadou Sakho and another requiring a simple stop from Hennessey.

Flashes of creativity

The ex-Wolves keeper had also been in action to tip wide Elneny’s eighth-minute shot and hold Gabriel Paulista’s looping header just before the interval. Xhaka’s only good long-range pass and Danny Welbeck’s only notable moment came when the latter’s improvised, tight-angled effort flew wide of the far post. This was a poor first half from Arsenal, but they produced enough flashes of creativity to suggest there may be more to come.

Palace’s strong second half

Any thoughts of a Gunners resurgence however were dashed when Palace came out of the blocks quickly after the break. The excellent Wilfried Zaha tore Monreal apart and shortly after his right-wing cross, Benteke tapped home and though his goal was ruled out for offside, the intent was for all to see. The flag only delayed their goals, which came through Cabaye and the superbly disciplined Milivojevic.

Two sides to Cabaye

The Frenchman has always been capable of that wonderful looping effort over Martinez on 63 minutes, such is his technical ability. The other side we saw to him was his willingness to press into the opposing half at the right moments and battle for the ball, doing so even when on the floor. It was both guile and grit that won the ex-Newcastle man a standing ovation from the home fans when he was taken off, after Miliojevic had added a third from the spot.

Historic seasons?

Following this result, Palace are 20/1 to go down while Arsenal are 13/2 with most markets to reach the top four. If you see those odds to be generous and are placing a bet on mobile, get the best sports betting apps at http://bettingapps.org. Most likely, this result is a nudge towards a historic season for both clubs. Palace are set for their longest ever top flight stay of five seasons while Arsenal could be without Champions League football for the first time in almost two decades. Times are changing in the capital.