Arsenal’s hopes of finishing in the top four were dealt a huge blow after Crystal Palace produced a spirited display to see off the Gunners 3-0 at Selhurst Park. Mikel Arteta’s side have dropped to fifth in the Premier League behind rivals Tottenham after their defeat on Monday night.
The north London side struggled to get going early on as Palace zipped the ball around comfortably and the hosts took the lead through Jean-Philippe Mateta’s header after the quarter-hour mark. Jordan Ayew capitalised on an error from Gabriel to double the advantage on 24 minutes and despite making a minor improvement after the interval, Arsenal rarely tested Vicente Guaita in the Palace goal.
Express Sport looks at five things we took away from the game after Arsenal’s disappointing night in south London.
Misfiring Gunners squander top-four chance
Seven points clear of Manchester United and three ahead of Tottenham with a game in hand? It must have felt too good to be true for Arsenal fans and so it proved. That would have been the scenario had they beat Crystal Palace on Monday night.
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Having won six of their last seven games in the Premier League, few would have expected Palace to make life so difficult for them. But Arsenal looked almost surprised by the aggressive manner in which the south London closed them down in the first half and struggled to break them down.
For the first time this season, Arteta’s side conceded directly from a set piece and the defence — unlike they have been for much of this season — looked unnerved by the occasion. Players such as Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard had been in such fine form in the games leading up to this one, but the pair were rarely involved.
Every team can have a bad week in the Premier League, as highlighted by Chelsea’s shock 4-1 defeat at home to Brentford. But Arsenal will be hoping this is merely an anomaly, with a north London derby against Spurs to negotiate. Another out-of-sorts display of this kind could quickly unravel all of their hard work and put pressure on them in the final weeks to hold on to their top-four spot.
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Vieira’s Eagles are soaring
When Arsenal were searching for a successor to Arsene Wenger and then Unai Emery, Patrick Vieira was mentioned both times. On the evidence of his Crystal Palace reign so far, that should be no surprise.
Like his managerial counterpart Mikel Arteta, he had tasted success with Arsenal as a player. But ultimately, the Spaniard’s time working under Pep Guardiola was more appealing. Vieira took a job with OGC Nice in France’s Ligue 1. Now at Palace, he has a crack at the big time in the Premier League and is wasting no time in making an impression.
His Palace side look well organised and willing to press at every opportunity, hassling Arsenal and refusing to allow them the chance to get comfortable. What’s more, Vieira’s signings, such as Joachim Andersen, Conor Gallagher and Michael Olise, have proved to be a success.
Not only that, Vieira has instilled a positive philosophy, with their football played at a high tempo and earning praise from the fans. They may be in mid-table, but victories of this kind prove how much they have improved under the Frenchman, and he will be delighted to have got one of his former club.
Zaha shows Arsenal what they missed
In the same summer that Arsenal paid £72m to sign Nicolas Pepe from Lille in 2019, the north London club had failed to convince Palace to sell Wifried Zaha. With an £80m price tag above his head, Arsenal pulled out and plumped for his cheaper Ivory Coast international team-mate.
While Pepe was left to warm the bench, he could only watch as Zaha wreaked havoc down the left-hand side. The 28-year-old was touch-and-go to make it in time for kick-off after a recent hamstring injury, but he looked sharp and eager to get the ball to his feet as he bamboozled the Arsenal backline.
Speculation regarding Zaha’s future refuses to go away, nor do the links to Arsenal. But this game ultimately proved that they signed the wrong man after choosing Pepe ahead of Zaha, winning and converting a late penalty. With 10 goals in the Premier League this season, Arsenal will be left to wonder where they could be now if they had pursued his signature.
Arsenal’s obvious area to strengthen
Mikel Arteta knows he needs to sign a new striker if the club are unable to tie down Alexandre Lacazette to a new deal. But there were enough concerns in the defence to underline his need to sign more reinforcements.
While Ben White and Gabriel started as the £73m pairing normally do, the Gunners were left weakened at full-back. Nuno Tavares replaced the injured Kieran Tierney and looked lost, with the Portuguese constantly caught out of position and at fault for the second goal. On the opposite flank, Cedric was pulled around at will by Wilfried Zaha.
Having allowed Hector Bellerin to join Real Betis and Calum Chambers leave on a free transfer for Aston Villa, Arteta knows that having Takehiro Tomiyasu is not enough. And with Tierney’s injury record, a new left-back may be in order after Tavares and Cedric’s below-par performances.
Mateta repays faith
Crystal Palace have searched far and wide for a prolific striker after Michy Batshuayi and Christian Benteke ultimately failed to set Selhurst Park alight. But perhaps with Jean-Philippe Mateta, Patrick Vieira has found the right man for the job.
The 24-year-old has been in fine form recently, bagging in the 2-0 win over Wolves and notching in their 4-0 drubbing over Everton to reach the FA semi-finals. And he added to his tally with an instinctive close-range header to put Palace ahead against Arsenal.
The towering Frenchman, who signed on a permanent deal from Mainz after his loan spell last season, appears to work productively alongside Wilfried Zaha and Jordan Ayew, as well as the injured Olise. Clearly, all he needs is a regular run in the side to find the goals after bagging all of his six goals this season from starts — and his goal may be enough to convince Vieira he is worthy.