Arsenal target Wilfried Zaha was in action today as Botafogo travelled to England to take on Crystal Palace in a friendly.
The Ivory Coast international – who Crystal Palace paid £6m for – failed to qualify for the World Cup, but the Mikel Arteta target was in action as the south Londoners arranged a friendly with the Brazilian giants.
What’s the story?
Well, Zaha played the opening 45 minutes against Botafogo, where a worrying trend continued.
The Crystal Palace No.11 – who 90min believe is wanted by Arsenal – missed a penalty against the Brazilian giants, just weeks after he again failed to score from 12 yards in a 1-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest.
Zaha has now missed six of his last nine penalties, and Patrick Vieira will surely be thinking about putting someone else on penalty duty – Odsonne Edouard and Eberechi Eze are known to be effective from 12 yards.
The 29-year-old has still enjoyed an impressive season so far despite his struggles from the spot, scoring six goals in 13 Premier League appearances, while also providing two assists.
It comes after Zaha enjoyed the best goalscoring campaign of his career to date last term, netting 15 goals in all competitions.
Arsenal should ignore Zaha error in Botafogo vs Crystal Palace friendly
Yes, Zaha may not be the strongest when it comes to penalties, but that should not bother Arteta.
The Spaniard has other players who can take on that responsibility, so it mustn’t put him off a move for the Ivorian, especially given the circumstances.
Zaha sees his contract at Selhurst Park expire in June, and according to the Daily Mail, he has been resisting a new deal despite Crystal Palace offering fresh terms.
Therefore, if Arsenal can get their hands on the Crystal Palace talisman for free, it would surely be one of the best signings any side makes in 2023.
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