Arsenal verdict: Mustafi and blundering defence could cost Gunners top four in Palace horror show

SO much for Arsenal’s new-found defensive steel.

Just when Emirates fans were daring to believe that their team were no longer an accident waiting to happen at the back, along comes Christian Benteke to shatter their illusions.

One week short of a whole year without a goal, the Crystal Palace striker took advantage of the most accommodating opposition he could have asked for.

Benteke could barely believe the amount of space he was allowed by Arsenal’s dozing defenders to head in Luka Milovojevic’s 17th minute free-kick.

He was so stunned by his long overdue strike that he almost forgot to celebrate.

But not half as shocked as the hapless Shkodran Mustafi, who had simply failed to run with his man and then stood with his arm in the air appealing in vain for an offside flag.

Not that it hadn’t been coming. Scott Dann had already been left completely unmarked for a header which Martin Kelly should have turned home.

Cheikhou Kouyate was thwarted by a double save from Bernd Leno and Benteke squandered a glorious opportunity to double his season’s tally.

Palace had clearly taken their inspiration straight from the Troy Deeney tactics manual of whacking the first Arsenal defender and seeing who wanted it.

And the answer was that nobody in a red shirt really fancied it.

Quite how Arsenal had only conceded one goal in their previous seven games remains a mystery.

They were not helped by the absence of the suspended Sokratis nor by Unai Emery’s decision to rest Nacho Monreal and Ainsley Maitland-Niles.

It was a decision which the Arsenal boss quickly regretted, hauling off Carl Jenkinson and Konstantinos Mavrapanos at half-time and switching to a back four.

And though the move paid instant dividends when Mesut Ozil levelled within three minutes of the restart, they were quickly undone again by their defensive frailties.

Once again it was the dithering Mustafi who was to blame, failing to chase down Benteke’s 62nd minute flick and allowing Wilfried Zaha to nip in and score.

How many more chances is the German going to be given before somebody calls time on is Arsenal career?

But God only knows who was at fault for Palace’s killer third goal, nodded in by James McArthur after Dann had been allowed another unchallenged header.

Now Arsenal are once again sweating over a top four finish and face two huge trips to Wolves and Leicester in the next week.

But maybe the damage has already been done.

For Emery knows he cannot possibly achieve all his long-time Arsenal ambitions without serious defensive reinforcements in the summer.

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