Arsenal Vs Crystal Palace: Lack of movement the killer

Arsenal’s lack of movement off the ball played a major role in their 2-2 draw against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park on Sunday. It was the killer for the dropped points.

It was often a frustrating picture as Arsenal trudged to a 2-2 draw against Crystal Palace on Sunday afternoon. Slow, lethargic, misled, sloppy. Advanced players were frequently walking around. If only the Gunners showed as much interest going forward as they did in winning the ball in midfield.

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Arsenal’s overall lack of forward movement against Palace gave Matteo Guendouzi little choice but to pass the ball sideways for a lot of the match — will the Granit Xhaka haters take this into consideration?

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Every time the pace of passing picked up, Arsenal were able to carve out attacking chances. The intensity and work rate put in to winning the ball often resulted in quicker passing. The link-up play and one-touch movement we’ve come to expect was always there. Some of the best attacks came from those transitions in midfield.

The right players were on the pitch to ratchet up the speed of play. But they never established a rhythm going forward. Instead, both the goals came from set pieces. Credit to Palace? They kept their shape. They never got pulled out by the tricks and tactics. Playing three games in a week also factors in. But the fact of the matter remains: the attacking speed of the team, anchored in the movement off the ball, was not good enough.

As the first half wore on, Guendouzi became so frustrated at the lack of movement that he tried accomplishing it himself. He dropped the ball off to Lucas Torreira and raced forward. No one joined in, so less than a minute later, he was back in the defensive half, passing the ball sideways.

The worst aspect of lacking movement is when a frustrated center-half ends up carrying the ball forward. In the 33rd minute, Shkodran Mustafi spread his arms out like he was asking questions of his mates. There was no response. So he carried the ball into the Palace half. Still no response. So he wandered around, got lost and then lost possession.

That should have been all it took to shame the attacking players into action. But this was not an isolated phenomenon. And it was not limited to Sunday. Mustafi and Rob Holding, his center-half partner against Palace, ave carried the ball forward on many occasions this season. The first half against Everton comes to mind, another stinker of a half. These center-back forays are seldom constructive.

Each instance, from every game, highlights an unacceptable lack of movement off the ball. And honestly, nothing worries me more about Arsenal than central defenders intentionally pulling themselves out of position. Arsene Wenger often stated that you can tell when Arsenal are playing well. He says that the ball moves quickly when they do. And there have been times this season that that hasn’t been the case, with Sunday being the starkest example.

That is why they dropped points. A lack of movement. And they will drop points in the future if they don’t start moving.