A frustrating Monday night defeat gives Palace, and Ben Mountain, plenty to think about. 

Well, that was a miserable affair. Sadly, failing to clinch a point from games such as Monday’s away to Bournemouth spells troubled times ahead for the Palace.

However, as always, there are things to take from the game that were both encouraging and, of course, discouraging. Emphasis on the latter. Everyone will have their own view on the match but we’ve tried to reflect calmly and weigh up the five things that we learnt.

Here goes nothing…

1) James McCarthur and Max Meyer need time

With Jimmy Mac seemingly being simultaneously slated and lionised from all corners by the red and blue faithful, it’s tough to say whether his more attacking role worked or not on Monday. However, with Palace’s midfield so abundant for choice, one thing’s clear: we need a steady, established core that works well together consistently.

With Meyer looking very sharp, perhaps the best solution would be to rotate their positions so that Jimmy plays deeper with Meyer roaming forward in his place. Hopefully, this way, they will prove to be a solid duo.

2) Our defence needs greater cover

One thing that was overly clear for anyone watching MNF was how shaky the Palace defence is. While individually the back-four are all competent enough and seemingly work well together, it was all too apparent that they’re not going to be making life too comfortable for us fans this year.

Knowing that, then, and fielding three centrally based midfielders, Hodgson has to ensure that we don’t over-commit going forward. With Wilfried Zaha playing effectively as a forward for large swathes of the game and Andros Townsend far from an ideal cover defensively, we left our backline exposed to the Cherries and sent far too many players forward. It’s understandable given our recent woe in front of goal but perhaps seeing point No.1 could be the solution to this issue.

3) Mamadou Sakho must calm down

As an experienced player in a crucial, commanding position such as centre-back, Mamadou Sakho has the cool of a Saharan sun. On the ball he looks flustered and unnatural - fine, that’s always been the case - but worryingly he now looks to play the ball out from defence when in reality he isn’t able to do so fluidly. As for the penalty? It’s playground stuff and completely, without reserve, lost us the game. We have to see a repentant Sakho on Saturday against Wolves.

4) Zaha is still the lynchpin going forward

Everyone in English football knows that Crystal Palace become a thing of impotence without the electric Wilfried Zaha on the pitch. However, despite playing yesterday, we still looked weak going forward when he wasn’t directly involved.

Had Wilf fallen out of position or squandered his chance during the attack, the rest of the team looked lost and crestfallen, having really only had Jordan Ayew to pick out. It’s tedious to watch because if the Ivorian isn’t on his game - as every footballer is entitled to be once in a while - the whole team seems dishevelled and uninspired. In the long-term, we have to learn to deal with this.

5) Ayew may prove better than he seemed

Yes, straws are being clutched at here but Jordan Ayew should be spared from excessive criticism. When you look at our attacking options, he’s probably the soundest man to start up top and was, at times, winning balls quite well yesterday. With Christian Benteke misfiring before his injury, it’s not like Palace are losing out by starting the loanee.

Further, with Wayne Hennessey seemingly extending the reach of his kick, having Ayew as a ball-winner but also someone for the ball to be knocked down to might come in handy.

1 – Hennessey Not Solely to Blame for Loss

While any time a team concedes four goals questions are asked of the goalkeeper and though Wayne Hennessey was a factor in the first and forth Arsenal goals, he cannot shoulder the blame for the thrashing. There were instances of bad defending throughout the goals including from the usually reliable James’ Tomkins and McArthur, Luka Milivojević and both full backs who, until the change in formation were allowed Arsenal too much freedom in wide areas. Roy Hodgson, perhaps for the first time since his appointment, made tactical errors in the team’s shape, stayed with the 4-4-2 too long and did not react to Arsenal playing 4-3-3. Hennessey played a part in the defeat, but not a stand out part.

2 – Central Midfield Injuries Exploit Transfer Strategy Weakness

Milivojević aside, Palace’s central midfield options all carry issues which limit their ability to be consistent. Ruben Loftus-Cheek back injury has had a knock on effect on other areas as is common with injuries of that sort. McArthur’s style means his participation is managed. Yohan Cabaye has recently suffered fatigue and being regularly substituted has shown that being monitored. Loftus-Cheek and Cabaye, while to be confirmed have potentially joined another central midfielder Jason Puncheon in having their seasons ended with injuries. While the club has not been negligent in numbers, it has in profile of those signed over the last few windows. It’s an issue which, with a Sporting Director and greater long-term planning in place, should be addressed.

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3 – Sako is no Long Term Solution

Bakary Sako’s resurgence under Hodgson should not be underestimated. When the team has needed him of late, he has stepped up. But the upsurge in form should not be mistaken for a step up in class – his endeavour is not in question but there is still doubt as to whether he can be relied upon to continue the recent for until the season ends. The club has needed a centre forward to compete with and/or play with Christian Benteke for some time. Sako is not the answer.

4 – Twenty-Two Minutes Should Not Define Season

It was a horror show for the first 22 minutes at the Emirates; four relatively soft goals conceded and little by way of reaction after each goal. It was a footballing capitulation and not one we can associate with the organisation, spirit and diligence Hodgson has instilled in this squad. And that is the context in which the defeat should be seen. Albeit at 4-0 down, the players showed character and application for the last hour of the game which is far more indicative of the last thirteen games (only two of which have been losses). While the fans should focus on the positive aspects of the team picking up 25 points from 15 games before this one, on the flip side the management cannot allow there to be a hangover from this defeat – it needs to be written off as a bad day at the office and we all move on.

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5 – Zaha Needs to Rediscover his Game Face

A smiling Wilf on his game is pure delight for Palace fans. So far this season, he has been a talisman, winning the team points and is a big part of Roy’s revitalisation of the team. However, after a difficult 90 minutes against Burnley, Wilf followed it up with an equally frustrating time at the Emirates. He was not getting the space to exploit, his efforts at fashioning chances out of nothing were not coming off and there was little by way of protection from the referee. That said, he didn’t have his game face; he has his frustrated face on at each turn. The roll on effect of this was even less protection from the referee and it did not help the overall organisation of the team. This is not meant as a criticism of the squad’s best player by some distance; it’s more a point to note that as he continues to grow, it’s possibly the final part of his game he needs to fix to really make it onto that next level.

1 – Anger Understandable, but it is Time to Move On

Awarded a penalty in injury time, the mind immediately goes to where the additional two points would take Palace. Score and Palace are level with the teams outside the bottom three. Miss and it is back to the bottom of the league. If it had been Luka Milivojević missing the penalty, we go away disappointed. That it was Christian Benteke after a heated discussion, against the will of his teammates and manager who missed it turned that disappointment into anger. And the anger was justified; he had let a lot of people down. However, the intent, selfish though it may have been, was not malicious. There is a match to play on Tuesday – there is no time to dwell. There is no time to let the anger continue to boil. It is time to move on; Benteke can help that with a goal against Watford.

2 – Penalty Aside, Benteke Played Well

While the focus has understandably been on Benteke’s penalty miss and his goal drought, taking a step back, that was the number 17’s best game for Palace this season. He was integral to much of the build-up play – key to both penalty awards and Scott Dann’s goal. There was no shortage of work from him, his link up play, particularly with Wilfried Zaha, was encouraging. Palace were dominant because Benteke was getting back to being the player who has an excellent Premier League record of 66 goals in 141 games (despite the current drought). We need him back at his best; hopefully an objective view of his whole performance will outweigh the admittedly self-generated negative feeling the penalty created.

3 – Townsend Needs to Add Impact to Endeavour

Whichever role he has been asked to play this season, be it in Frank De Boer’s wayward formation, on either flank under Roy Hodgson or up front, there has been no shortage of application from Andros Townsend. He has been a willing runner, helping his full-back out and endeavouring to join Zaha and Benteke as much as he can. However, approaching Christmas and the half-way point in the season, he is yet to score or look as dangerous with the ball as he did under Sam Allardyce. Saturday was encouraging with three shots and two key passes but these need to be more impactful; Townsend needs to start being a match-winner.

4 – Fosu-Mensah Needs In-Game Diligence

Timothy Fosu-Mensah has obvious ability; pace, strength and excellent timing when it comes to tackling. His absence from the team has been a topic of debate with Joel Ward starting ahead of him at right-back and four alternatives at centre-back. Against Bournemouth it was apparent as to why he has found it hard to break in to the side. His in-game diligence is something which, as to be expected of a teenager playing in the Premier League, seems to be lacking. James Tomkins spent much of the first half talking the youngster through the game. With Mamadou Sakho looking like he has a spell on the side-lines, the team’s organisation cannot afford Fosu-Mensah to be learning on the pitch. He has to develop to displace to rejuvenated Ward in the team and make the most of this loan.

5 – Two Points Dropped but Still All to Play For

Results can be spun to be two points dropped, or a point gained. Undefeated in five, or one win in five. However it has come about, the team, albeit bottom of the league, are within touching distance of climbing out of the drop-zone. It has been a solid turnaround by Hodgson and his staff and there really is all to play for, despite the first seven games being written off. The focus needs to be on the games ahead and strengthening in the transfer window. We have a chance; Saturday’s penalty must be the last one we squander this season.