Crystal Palace vs Arsenal: 3 tactical areas to exploit

Maintaining Pressure in Final 15 Minutes

Unknowingly to many teams there can be subconscious spells in the game where focus slips. Perhaps tiredness kicks in or tactically they are instructed to change their ways, or there is something lacking mentally at specific moments.

It’s tough to come up with a valid reason as to why this is, but Palace concede a lot of their goals in the final 15 minutes of both halves. 55% of the 38 goals the Eagles have shipped this season have come during those 30 minutes of the game. That’s more than half of their total allowed in in one third of the match.

Breaking it down, Palace have conceded ten between 36-45 minutes, and 11 between 76-90 minutes.

There are notable examples, such a Lacazette’s last-gasp equaliser at the Emirates, Neal Maupay’s leveller in added time at home, or John McGinn’s 86th minute goal at Selhurst Park.

Do the players generally lose focus? Are the tactical demands on the team too much to persist with for over half an hour? Who knows, but it’s clearly a weakness of theirs and when the clock is ticking down for a whistle there is every reason to push harder down on the pedal.

They’ve scored a fair few of their own during those times too, which may hint that they allow games to get too open, but it means that patience could be a key tool on Monday.