As Arsenal fell to a 3-0 defeat to Crystal Palace, a worrying statistic about their no.9 came to light in the closing stages.
The Gunners never really turned up at Selhurst Park in the face of a raucous home crowd, and fell behind early as Jean Philippe Mateta headed home from a set-piece. The Eagles continued to dominate the first half and, courtesy of some poor defending by Gabriel and Nuno Tavares, Jordan Ayew was able to double Patrick Vieira’s side’s lead after 25 minutes. wriggling free to fire home from the edge of the area.
“Come to Daddy!” ?
Jean-Philippe Mateta’s reaction just before he scored in Crystal Palace’s 3-0 win over Arsenal. pic.twitter.com/Y7Fdd6NhPD
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) April 5, 2022
Firmly second best in the first half, the Gunners improved somewhat in the second 45, but spurned their precious few chances as they looked for a way back into the game. A foul committed by Martin Odegaard 15 minutes from time summed up the Norwegian’s performance, as he conceded a spot-kick that Wilfried Zaha cooly converted, handing Palace a memorable victory and denting Arsenal’s top 4 hopes.
Lacazette stat emerges
And, following the drubbing, a concerning stat about Alexandre Lacazette, Arsenal’s focal point, has emerged.
This comes via Arsenal fan and Twitter statistician @orbinho, who claims that it is now over 17 hours of football since the Frenchman last scored from open play.
Alex Lacazette has gone 17 hours and 53 minutes of Premier League football without scoring a goal from open play
— Orbinho (@Orbinho) April 4, 2022
The 30-year-old has scored just four times this season for the Gunners, though he has provided 7 assists. However, his last open play goal in the top flight was against Southampton on December 12th, showing an area that the Gunners clearly need to upgrade upon this summer.
Whether or not his performances can still help them into 4th spot before his contract expires remains to be seen.
