William Saliba’s costly error saw Arsenal slip to a 2-2 draw at home to Crystal Palace on Wednesday, leaving Liverpool a point away from Premier League glory.
- Arsenal drop more points in Premier League
- Crystal Palace deserved result at Emirates Stadium
- Gunners will imminently see Liverpool claim title
Only a Palace victory at the Emirates Stadium would have secured Liverpool their 20th top-flight crown without kicking a ball, but the Reds can wrap up the title if they do not lose to Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.
Palace never led but were the better side for long stretches, responding to Jakub Kiwior’s early opener with a fine Eberechi Eze goal before working hard to cancel out Leandro Trossard’s strike shortly before half-time.
The second equaliser arrived late and came in bizarre fashion as Saliba gifted the ball to Palace substitute Jean-Philippe Mateta, who executed a sublime lob that clipped the crossbar on its way in.
The draw means Arsenal are 12 points off the pace with only four matches to play, while Palace are still 12th but a point closer to the European places.
Arsenal 2-2 Crystal Palace: How the match unfolded
Arsenal needed less than three minutes to take the lead, coming from a set-piece. Martin Odegaard’s wide free-kick was perfectly flighted and an unmarked Kiwior, having easily escaped the lax attention of former teammate Eddie Nketiah, accurately powered a header past Dean Henderson.
Palace responded well, though, have a good sight of goal themselves when Daichi Kamada’s volley was deflected only just wide. From the resultant corner, Nketiah ought to have done better to direct a header goalwards when David Raya got no way near trying to claim the cross. More Raya hesitancy as Nketiah chased a ball into the left channel almost saw it break to Justin Devenny.
Midway through the first half, Declan Rice didn’t miss by much when the ball sat up kindly for him to strike at the edge of the box. But Palace were good value for their equaliser when Eze, looking almost disinterested to avoid catching the attention of Arsenal defenders, took up position on the edge of the box and guided a volley in off the post after Adam Wharton’s deliberate cutback corner.
Nketiah ought to have got a quickfire Palace second, only to be denied by a timely Kiwior block as he tried to roll the Polish defender with his back to goal, six yards out.
But Arsenal went back in front in the last few moments before the interval. Jurrien Timber deserves credit for the way he drove forward with the ball, firing a pass into the feet of Trossard, who managed to dig out a shot from under his feet that crept into the bottom corner.
Second Half Performances
Raya’s earlier twitchiness didn’t improve after the break. He looked unsure of himself and was bailed out a couple of times. Either side of an instinctive save to parry Marc Guehi’s flick-on header, he tipped a looping ball over the bar after Devenny got a header all wrong, and flapped as Daniel Munoz nodded across the face of goal, without a Palace shirt connecting.
Arsenal thought they had extended their lead with a quarter of the game left, when Gabriel Martinelli turned in Timber’s hook into the middle. An offside flag went up on the Dutchman, which VAR found to be erroneous, but the ball had just gone out of play, so the goal was ruled out.
Henderson threw up a reactive hand to stop substitute Bukayo Saka from converting after arriving late in the box from the far post. That proved to be doubly important, because instead of going 3-1 down, Palace suddenly found themselves level, not undeservedly, through Mateta.
It was a poor pass from William Saliba that was picked off, with Mateta spotting Raya off his line and successfully going for the ambitious lob from 25 yards out.
As the Emirates started to empty in stoppage time, an emboldened Palace pushed a potential winner, but a draw was a fair result for both sides in the end.
One eye on Wembley for Crystal Palace
It was wasn’t a fully rotated Crystal Palace lineup from Oliver Glasner, but Jean-Philippe Mateta, Will Hughes and Ismaila Sarr all began on the bench to stay fresh ahead of the weekend. Glasner also removed Eberechi Eze and Adam Wharton well before the end when Palace were a goal behind.
The Eagles head to Wembley Stadium on Saturday evening for an FA Cup semi-final against Aston Villa. It is the club’s 12th ever visit and they are hoping to reach only a third FA Cup final.
Ultimately, at stake for Palace at the end of the season could be a first ever major trophy. This performance will certainly give them confidence heading into the semi-final after a disappointing recent run since progressing from the quarters.
Premier League title race after Arsenal 2-2 Crystal Palace draw
Even though it is inevitable that Liverpool will be crowned Premier League champions, the last thing Arsenal wanted was to hand the Reds that title without them even playing.
Defeat would have meant exactly that, so keeping things alive at least puts the onus back on Liverpool to seal it themselves when it gets to their weekend match against Tottenham Hotspur.
It does, however, mean that just a single point will now be enough.
Also read about Man City’s dramatic win over Aston Villa.
