April 05, (THEWILL) – Arsenal were defeated 3-0 by Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park on Monday night, losing momentum in the Premier League top-four campaign.
Goals from Jean-Philippe Mateta and Jordan Ayew in the first half, as well as a penalty from Wilfried Zaha undid the atmosphere of optimism that had blossomed with the Gunners’ side in recent times.
Mikel Arteta must have been worried about what he witnessed from his side, especially after arch-rivals and city neighbours Tottenham Hotspur propelled themselves back into the Champions League spots over the weekend.
The hosts made a good start to the game, pushing high and forcing Arsenal to make some uncharacteristic errors.
When the Gunners failed to deal with a set-piece in the 16th minute, Joachim Andersen redirected the ball into Mateta’s path with the back of his head. Mateta then scored with his signature powerful header into the net.
Palace was in a dreamland seven minutes later. This time, Arsenal failed to deal with Andersen’s diagonal ball forward, and Jordan Ayew pounced and placed the ball into the bottom corner.
Arsenal, on the other hand, scarcely touched the Eagles and Palace came close to making it 3-0 before halftime. Mateta’s shot had to be flapped away by Aaron Ramsdale after superb work from Wilfried Zaha.
Andersen nearly added a goal to his two assists early in the second period, but his well-struck free-kick was kept out.
Just after the hour mark, Arsenal had a good sight on goal, but Martin Odegaard’s finish was a complete disaster, as the ball bounced wide to underscore the overwhelming difference between the display of the Gunners and their performance before the international break.
With 17 minutes remaining, Odegaard brought down Zaha in the box to worsen Arsenal’s night further. The referee, who had looked unimpressed when Bukayo Saka was tripped in the Palace box, in the first half, awarded the hosts a penalty.
Zaha calmly stroked in from 12 yards to send Selhurst Park into ecstasies.
Soon after, freshly-capped England international Marc Guehi was on the line to prevent Arsenal’s Emile Smith Rowe from equalising. Substitute Eddie Nketiah struck the woodwork right before the final whistle, but it was not to be for the visitors.
On Sunday, Palace will face Leicester City on the road in Premier League play. Arsenal’s next match is on Saturday at the Emirates Stadium against Brighton & Hove Albion.
The result of the Monday night tie meant that Spurs remained in fourth place on goal difference, although Arsenal still have a game in hand.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
