Crystal Palace 1-1 Arsenal
Man of the match: Damien Delaney (Crystal Palace)
From a championship challenge to a battle for the top four, the last couple of months have not exactly gone to plan for Arsenal.
Nine weeks ago, Arsene Wenger's side recorded a dramatic 2-1 victory over Leicester City to move to within two points of the summit. Rather than a turning point, though, that win proved to be a false dawn, Arsenal taking just one point from the next nine on offer to fall out of contention for the prize that has eluded them since 2004.
Back-to-back triumphs over Everton and Watford led to hope that rivals Tottenham Hotspur could yet be overhauled in second, but Arsenal's Dr Jekyll soon gave way to Mr Hyde, Sunday's 1-1 draw against Crystal Palace – which came eight days after a two-goal lead was thrown away at West Ham United – leaving them just four points above Manchester United in fifth.
“I’m very, very disappointed,” Wenger admitted in his post-match press conference. “I felt that we had 70 per cent of the ball and didn’t make enough of it. We lacked a bit of accuracy with our final ball and we didn’t play with enough freedom or flow.”
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That was a fair assessment from the Frenchman, but a comfortable home win still looked a near-certainty for long periods of this encounter.
Arsenal enjoyed 86 per cent of possession in the opening 20 minutes, with Palace’s back four permanently stationed on the edge of their own penalty area.
Alan Pardew’s men struggled to get up the pitch and were wasteful with their passing, allowing Arsenal to spend virtually the entire first period camped inside their opponents’ half of the field.
For all of their territorial domination, however, the hosts were unable to record an attempt on target until the 43rd minute, with Alexis Sanchez’s opener following shortly after in first-half stoppage time.
Danny Welbeck did brilliantly to pinch the ball from Mile Jedinak and chip an excellent pass towards the Chilean, who headed over Wayne Hennessey after successfully breaking in behind the Palace rearguard.
Arsenal continued to control proceedings after the interval, but their profligate finishing and inefficiency at turning possession into clear-cut chances ultimately cost them two points.
Palace, emboldened by the fact that the deficit remained just a single goal, grew sharper on the break in the closing stages, substitutes Wilfried Zaha, Bakary Sako and Emmanuel Adebayor each contributing as their transitions from back to front became smoother and increasingly threatening.
Yannick Bolasie, not always the cleanest striker of the ball, took full advantage in the 81st minute, firing past Petr Cech to earn Palace a valuable draw.
“I’ve seen games at the Emirates and you can exploit the last period of the game if you’re still in the game,” Pardew told reporters. “I genuinely felt after the equaliser it might have been us who could have won it.
“They’re always pushing for the win, they push their full-backs high and wide and win a lot of games in the last moments. [But] if you can stay in the game, there will be opportunities towards the end.”
Knocked out of the Uefa Champions League, FA Cup and Premier League title race in March, Arsene Wenger's side now have a fight on their hands to secure a top-four finish in their final five matches in April and May.
A four-point lead over Manchester United and favourable fixture list means Arsenal should still be able to hold off Louis van Gaal’s charges, but they certainly do not look like ending the campaign with a flourish.
Scraping over the line in fourth may be enough to secure Champions League football, but it will not prevent the pressure from building further on Wenger after a ninth season without silverware in the last 11 years.
A significant summer awaits.
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