‘If you watch’: Wayne Rooney slams Arsenal man for what he did in build up to opening Crystal Palace goal

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The first half for Arsenal against Crystal Palace this evening was as bad things have been for a while for this Gunners team.

Palace were simply all over the Gunners and Mikel Arteta was shocked by what he saw. Some of his players who’d been so reliable of late struggled, with players like Partey, Tavares, and Ramsdale all looking off their game at times.

The opening goal for Palace came from a header from Jean-Philippe Mateta. The big striker nodded in when Arsenal failed to deal with a set-piece. And assessing the goal at half-time, Derby manager, Wayne Rooney, believes that Gabriel Magalhaes should have done far better.

“I think if you watch Gabriel, he’s always got a clear view of the ball, he can always see the ball. And then he takes a little step. He takes that little step and gets underneath the ball. It’s a bit fortunate how it comes across the box but I think Gabriel has to do better,” Rooney said live on Sky Sports.

“It’s a tiny little step. He just goes underneath the ball and then he’s on the back foot. It’s a risky step to take but he does it and then he can’t get a clear header of the ball.”

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It was good insight from Rooney. It was something that wasn’t really clear to the generic fan or onlooker but you can see that Gabriel does make a bit of a pointless step.

It’s minor, but it does stop him getting to the ball as he’d like and Arsenal paid the ultimate price really. In the race for the top four, these moments can be massive.

Gabriel struggled for much of the night with Mateta’s presence and this moment about summed it up.