Palace punish sloppy Arsenal in 3-2 win at the Emirates

• Palace stunned Arsenal with a 3-2 victory at the Emirates
• Benteke broke the deadlock with a header in 17th minute
• The Belgian striker scored his first goal since April 2018
• Ozil equalised for Arsenal two minutes into the second half
• Zaha made it 2-1 for Palace after a defensive error from Mustafi
• McArthur headed a third goal for Palace from a corner
• Aubameyang scored Arsenal’s second goal with 13 minutes to go
• Arsenal visit Wolverhampton Wanderers next, Palace host Everton

Crystal Palace put a dent in Arsenal’s Champions League qualification hopes after strikers Christian Benteke and Wilfried Zaha made the most of defensive errors in a 3-2 win at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday.

The visitors took a shock early lead inside 20 minutes when captain Luka Milivojevic’s freekick found an unmarked Benteke, who headed it past Arsenal goalkeeper Bernd Leno for his first league goal since April last year.

Arsenal boss Unai Emery responded with the introduction of Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Alex Iwobi at the start of the second half but it was Mesut Ozil who scored the equaliser after a sweeping move.

The German playmaker combined with Iwobi and striker Alexandre Lacazette before scooping the ball past Palace goalkeeper Vicente Guaita.

But Arsenal paid for a lapse in concentration at the back as Zaha took advantage of Shkodran Mustafi’s error in judgement to grab the lead for the visitors, before Palace added a third with a headed goal from James McArthur.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang reduced the deficit for the hosts with his 19th league goal of the campaign to set up a pulsating final 10 minutes but Palace held on to end Arsenal’s 16-match unbeaten run at home in the league.

The result ensured Palace’s Premier League status for another season as they moved to 12th spot in the standings with 42 points.

“It’s nice to get over the 40-point marker and to have safety mathematically confirmed,” Palace manager Roy Hodgson said.

“Our defensive shape was fantastic. We remained compact and narrow. We made it difficult to find spaces behind us. I then thought on the counter-attack we were remarkably dangerous.”

Hodgson was particularly impressed by Benteke’s return to the scoresheet after 19 league games and now expects the Belgian striker to finish the season with a flourish.

“Christian Benteke must be very confident after today’s performance,” the manager added.

“It wasn’t the fact he scored and set one up, he worked tirelessly and did a job offensively and defensively. He and Wilfried Zaha will feel they really did a job for the team.

“For Christian who’s had a rough time with injuries and not scoring the amount of goals he wants maybe with the final few games he will score a few more.”

Arsenal remain fourth but fail to take advantage of defeats for Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United earlier this weekend.