Hoping to win back the fourth and final Champions League spot from arch-rivals Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal made the trip to Crystal Palace on Monday night. Having bagged six wins in their last seven league fixtures, the Gunners started as favorites at Selhurst Park. Unfortunately for them, Patrick Vieira’s men did not pay heed to their on-paper superiority and took them to the cleaners, securing a massive 3-0 win.
Jean-Philippe Mateta and Jordan Ayew scored in the first half to give Palace a commanding 2-0 lead before Wilfried Zaha topped off with a confident penalty in the 74th minute.Mikel Arteta’s side looked lost and disoriented from the start. Crystal Palace, full of energy, pressed Arsenal higher up the pitch and forced them to commit uncharacteristic errors. It took Palace only 16 minutes to pull ahead, and we cannot say they did not deserve it. Conor Gallagher delivered a neat free-kick inside the box, which Joachim Andersen cleverly flicked in Mateta’s path. The striker made no mistake heading home from close range.
Eight minutes later, pandemonium ensued at Selhurst Park as Jordan Ayew put the hosts two goals to the good. Andersen produced an impeccable throughball that dissected the Gunners’ defense with unfathomable ease to find Ayew. The winger comfortably found the bottom left corner of Aaron Ramsdale’s goal. Four minutes after going 2-0 down, Arteta’s men carved a great opportunity to pull one back. Unfortunately, Alexandre Lacazette could not quite keep his effort on target.Palace's domination continued in the second half, with the Gunners rarely making inroads into the hosts’ box. Martin Odegaard and Emile Smith Rowe had decent chances to get the north Londoners back into the contest, but both youngsters fired wide. Vieira’s men eventually scored their third goal of the night to take the game out of the visitors’ reach. Odegaard fouled Zaha inside the box, prompting the referee to point to the spot. Zaha never looked like missing the target.
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