For all the understandable excitement about their progress to the last four of the Champions League, the collapse of Arsenal’s domestic form has been stark. After yet another disappointment at the Emirates, the Premier League title is all but Liverpool’s.
Arne Slot’s team now need just a point at home to Tottenham on Sunday. If they get it, they will be over the line with four games to spare. Not so much a title race as a spring walk across Stanley Park. Maybe, given their recent generosity, Mikel Arteta’s team will send flowers.
Crystal Palace, energised and ambitious under coach Oliver Glasner, could have won this game. They came from behind twice, had the better chances and were pushing hard at the end.
That they didn’t should not spare Arteta and his players from the reality that by the time they next play domestically a week on Saturday, they will have won four times in the league in three months. It has been quite some collapse since they demolished Manchester City 5-1 amid scenes of such exhilaration here at the start of February.
So it’s Europe or bust for Arsenal now. The Champions League or nothing. They will seek inspiration not from this but from their recent dismantling of Real Madrid and it will be a different game, atmosphere and indeed ball game when PSG arrive here from France next Tuesday.
As for Palace, they will face Aston Villa at Wembley in the FA Cup semi-final on Saturday in exactly the right frame of mind.
Jean-Philippe Mateta scored a brilliant lob over David Raya to make it 2-2 on the night
Raya could only look on in dismay as the ball clipped the underside of the bar and went in
Mikel Arteta’s men have suffered domestically and all eggs are in the Champions League basket
Mateta and Co celebrate a hard-fought point and Palace even had chances to win it
Arsenal began perfectly here as Jakub Kiwior headed home in the third minute. But Palace, despite resting key players, were a force and even though Leandro Trossard scored just before half-time to erase memories of a superb Eberechi Eze equaliser, they could not put the South London club away.
And it was left to Palace’s irresistible centre forward Jean-Philippe Mateta to leave his own impression on the night just two minutes after coming on as a late substitute. The mix up in the Arsenal defence is not one Arteta will wish to see again but Mateta’s chipped finish off the bar from 30 yards was magnificent.
For Arteta’s team this night was less about the title race and more about momentum and fitness. Sunday’s 4-0 dismantling of Ipswich in Suffolk had helped with the former and the Arsenal manager clearly had the latter in mind when he chose to leave Bukayo Saka on the bench. Saka had, of course, taken a fearful whack to his Achilles in the game at Portman Road.
Palace were not at full strength either. As Arsenal eye PSG, Oliver Glasner’s team are thinking of Wembley. It was an odd mix and one that perhaps contributed to an open, engaging but often rather careless first half.
Arsenal were ahead after just two and a half minutes and Palace only had themselves to blame. The home team can be clever at set pieces but this was as straight forward as it gets. Martin Odegaard crossed from the left, Eddie Nketiah neglected to challenge Kiwior and the Arsenal defender headed the ball in from 12 yards with no fuss.
Glasner had said before the game that Nketiah, once of Arsenal, could use this game to ignite his slow burning career at Palace. This was not the way to go about it.
Palace did collectively improve, though, and Nketiah was often at the sharp end of some quick breaks from deep, even if he struggled to find the appropriate touch, pass or finish. At least the young striker was visible.
Arsenal were dangerous when they moved forward and Declan Rice drove wide from 20 yards after a sharp dash infield by Raheem Sterling. Palace had the better chances, though, and after a 20 minute spell of nearly and almost, they levelled the game.
Leandro Trossard had earlier given Arsenal the lead for the second time in the match
Eberechi Eze’s volley hit the post and went in to equalise in the first half for Crystal Palace
The home side celebrate Jakub Kiwior’s powerful header putting them ahead early on
Kiwior was somehow unmarked and steered his header past Dean Henderson
Nketiah had seen a couple of half chances come and go while on another two occasions Palace would have benefited from a kinder run of the ball.
But when Adam Wharton dropped a corner on to the right foot of Eze on the edge of the penalty area in the 27th minute, the England player volleyed the ball calmly and perfectly down in to the turf and up against David Raya’s left hand post and in. A training ground move, it will never be executed any better.
Arsenal should not have been surprised. They had been a little sloppy. And when Eze ran on to another pass from deep and fed Nketiah on his inside, Palace may have been ahead had Kiwior not blocked his shot on the turn from six yards.
Palace were to rue that close call soon after as Trossard expertly controlled a pass from the right, turned inside Maxence Lacroix and Jefferson Lerma and drove a low shot in to the corner at the near post with his left foot.
Arsenal controlled the game for a while thereafter and could have scored early in the second half as William Saliba and Trossard akmost scrambled the ball in. But then, after a quiet period in the game, Palace shook themselves to worry their opponents once again.
Raya in the Arsenal goal was having an uncertain evening both with his hands and his feet. He came for a cross and missed and then, soon after, played a crossfield pass straight out of play.
The Spaniard probably should have been beaten in the 65th minute as Palace substitute Ismaila Sarr crossed for Justin Devenny who was in space. A straight forward header was required but Devenny only made contact with his shoulder and Raya touched the looping ball over.
Bukayo Saka came off the bench but could not help his side avoid dropping two points
Mikel Arteta’s side dropping points makes life easier for Liverpool this weekend
Declan Rice put his hands on his head, frustrated at being pegged back by the Eagles
From the corner Marc Guehi reacted first only for Raya to palm away his effort. Then, in the 67th minute, another corner, this time a deep one, found Daniel Munoz at the back post and somehow his header across goal was nodded wide from a yard by Sarr. Guehi, standing behind him, probably would have scored.
So with twenty minutes or so remaining, Arsenal had been warned. At this stage of the game, Palace were once again the better team.
And they finally levelled the game for the second time with seven minutes of regulation time remaining. The mix up between Saliba and Martin Odegaard was extraordinary. What was Odegaard even doing back there so close to goal?
But the manner in which Mateta claimed the ball and then chipped Raya from 30 yards was quite something. All of a sudden, on this strange night of football, Palace were one more goal away from handing the title to Liverpool.
