- Joined
- May 8, 2002
- Posts
- 433,538
- Reaction score
- 44
You must be registered for see images attach
Mateta slotted home from distance after a defensive mix-up in front of Arsenal’s goal - Getty Images/BEN STANSALL
It will not soothe the psychological burn of once again failing to win the Premier League title, but Mikel Arteta can at least take some comfort from the fact that Arsenal did not simply hand it to Liverpool at the final hour. If Arne Slot and his Liverpool players are going to win it this week, they will have to do so themselves.
Arteta is a proud man, leading a proud club, and it would have been grim indeed for Arsenal if their own incompetence had provided the crowning moment for their title rivals, who were watching this game from their training ground. Arsenal had to avoid defeat against Crystal Palace to prevent that scenario, and they duly did so by picking up a point with this draw at the Emirates Stadium.
That is not to say, though, that it was a particularly encouraging night for Arteta and his players. There was a vulnerability to their defence throughout the evening, as evidenced by the two eye-catching goals they conceded to Palace’s best attackers, Eberechi Eze and Jean-Philippe Mateta.
The first of those goals was Eze’s superb volley, direct from a corner, and the second came late in the second half as William Saliba needlessly surrendered possession in his own territory. Mateta’s subsequent chipped finish was glorious. What Oliver Glasner would give for more goals of such class in this weekend’s FA Cup semi-final against Aston Villa.
It almost goes without saying that Arsenal cannot afford to make such defensive errors in their upcoming Champions League semi-final against Paris St-Germain. Arteta’s side struck here through Jakub Kiwior and Leandro Trossard but the shaky defending will be their main takeaway from this draw. It must be eradicated instantly if they are to stand any chance of reaching the Champions League final.
Full report to follow
10:44 PM BST
A quick word from Oliver Glasner
10:39 PM BST
And finally, here’s Mikel Arteta
10:15 PM BST
A word from a bashful man of the match, Mateta
10:04 PM BST
How the top of the table looks
09:59 PM BST
Full time: Arsenal 2 Crystal Palace 2
Two great finishes from Eze and Mateta in a good match enlivened by Palace’s attacking verve. Arsenal’s game management is not up to snuff this season in the Premier League.
09:57 PM BST
90+8 min: Arsenal 2 Crystal Palace 1
Trossard’s cross is picked off by Henderson and that is that. Arsenal rack up their 13th draw of the season. Liverpool now need only one more point to win the title.
09:56 PM BST
90+6 min: Arsenal 2 Crystal Palace 1
Saka heads Martinelli’s deflected cross behind for a goal-kick.
Alan Smith names Mateta man of the match despite coming on only in the 80th minute. It was a wonderfully adept finish but owed a lot to Saliba’s mistake and Raya’s positioning.
09:53 PM BST
90+5 min: Arsenal 2 Crystal Palace 1
Palace throw on the right parallel with the 18-yard line. Lerma hurls it in but the ball defelects off Sarr and out for a goal-kick.
09:52 PM BST
90+4 min: Arsenal 2 Crystal Palace 1
Arsenal are cut wide open again down the right but the cross from Esse flashes through the box, too far in front of Mateta, too far behind Sarr.
09:51 PM BST
90+2 min: Arsenal 2 Crystal Palace 1
Saliba blocks Sarr’s goal-bound flick from Mateta’s cross, closing his legs in the nick of time. Tierney hurls a throw-in up the left for Martinelli who hares forward and pumps his shot into the side-netting.
09:49 PM BST
90 min: Arsenal 2 Crystal Palace 1
Tierney floats a deep cross from the left that Henderson reels in.
The board shows eight minutes of stoppage time will be forthcoming.
09:47 PM BST
88 min: Arsenal 2 Crystal Palace 1
If it stays as it is Liverpool will need a point on Sunday to win their 20th title.
09:46 PM BST
86 min: Arsenal 2 Crystal Palace 1
Nwaneri → Odegaard
Tierney → Lewis-Skelly.
Arsenal are reeling a bit here.
09:41 PM BST
GOAL!
And what a goal!
Arsenal 2 Crystal Palace 2 (Mateta) Raya is standing to the left of the box and passes to Saliba who is caught dithering by Kamada and the France centre-half mistakenly shifts the ball to Mateta who chips it into an empty net from 25 yards. Saliba was looking for Odegaard. What a nonchalant and stylish finish. Almost no look. Instinctive.
09:41 PM BST
83 min: Arsenal 2 Crystal Palace 1
Big chance for Trossard from the corner but he plants Rice’s cross into the side-netting.
09:40 PM BST
81 min: Arsenal 2 Crystal Palace 1
Sharp save from Henderson, throwing up his right hand after Saka met Martinelli’s deep cross on the volley, having surprised Mitchell by ghosting on to his shoulder. It flew at the keeper from barely six yards. Excellent save.
Esse → Devenny
Mateta → Nketiah.
09:37 PM BST
78 min: Arsenal 2 Crystal Palace 1
Mateta has been waiting an age but the ball stays in play. Odegaard lets fly from 20 yards, straight into Kamada’s shins.
09:35 PM BST
75 min: Arsenal 2 Crystal Palace 1
Raya makes a secure catch to grab Mitchell’s cross, about the best handling of the match from him so far.
Mateta is stripped and ready to come on. Palace are certainly not preoccupied with Wembley.
From the one angle we were shown here, it was hard to tell as the whole goal frame and net impaired the view. The original decision was offside, which it wasn’t.
09:32 PM BST
No goal
He wasn’t offside but Timber hooked the goal back from behind the byline. The lino flagged for offside not that but it wasn’t offside.
You must be registered for see images attach
VAR ruled that the whole ball had crossed the line - Sky Sports/PGMOL
09:29 PM BST
VAR check for Arsenal goal
Martinelli taps in but the linesman signalled that the ball was out of play when Timber hooked it back and over Henderson. Also checking for offside before the pass was played into the box.
09:27 PM BST
68 min: Arsenal 2 Crystal Palace 1
Guehi flicks the corner goalwards at the front post and Raya has to batter it away. From the ensuing corner Palace pick out Munoz at the back post and he heads back and across. Raya makes a mess of it, getting stranded as it burst through his waving hands but Sarr’s header is made with too feint a contact and dribbles wide.
09:24 PM BST
65 min: Arsenal 2 Crystal Palace 1
From the throw Palace play Sarr in down the left and he opens his body to cross with his right. Devenny throws himself at a diving header and makes a mess of it, the ball strikes him on the shoulder and loops towards goal. Raya slaps it over under pressure from Nketiah.
09:23 PM BST
63 min: Arsenal 2 Crystal Palace 1
Hughes → Wharton
Sarr → Eze.
Raya, looking for Timber, chips the ball over his head and out for a throw-in.
09:19 PM BST
60 min: Arsenal 2 Crystal Palace 1
Sterling at the back post switched off after Guehi’s effort to turn away a cross from the left squirted off his boot and out for a corner. Had he been super alert that would have been a tap in but he was on his heels.
And that’s his race run for tonight. Encapsulates his season:
Saka → Sterling.
09:17 PM BST
58 min: Arsenal 2 Crystal Palace 1
Palace’s turn to sweep the ball around assuredly, moving it from one wing to another until Mitchell arcs over a deep outswinging cross. Raya, who has has a few shaky moments, has another flap at it but manages to reach it with his fingertips to claw it away from Munoz and Devenny.
09:14 PM BST
56 min: Arsenal 2 Crystal Palace 1
Palace break after Lewis-Skelly lost the ball in the inside-left position but when it’s played up to Nketiah he stumbles and Saliba mugs him for possession. His confidence looks shot. Poor lad.
09:11 PM BST
54 min: Arsenal 2 Crystal Palace 1
Lacroix muscles Trossard off the ball as the Belgium forward received it with his back to goal 20 yards out and was trying to roll the centre-back.
09:10 PM BST
52 min: Arsenal 2 Crystal Palace 1
Timber seems to sprain his ankle as his studs get stuck in the turf but he’s going to try to run it off.
09:09 PM BST
50 min: Arsenal 2 Crystal Palace 1
Henderson flexes his left shoulder a couple of times, windmills his arm and restarts with a drop-ball.
09:08 PM BST
48 min: Arsenal 2 Crystal Palace 1
Free-kick on the left after a foul by Devenny that is worthy of a booking. Odegaard swings it in deep and Nketiah clatters into Henderson. Trossard tries to pounce on the bouncing ball, Nketiah hacks it away from a couple of yards and the referee blows to stop the game in case Henderson is seriously injured. Which he isn’t.
09:06 PM BST
46 min: Arsenal 2 Crystal Palace 1
Arsenal kick off. No changes. Timber frees Sterling down the line and his right-wing cross on the run is headed away by Lerma with Trossard and Martinelli lurking.
08:49 PM BST
Half-time: Arsenal 2 Crystal Palace 1
Very enjoyable game. Better finishing from Arsenal has given them a lead they don’t really deserve. Palace have had the better chances but Nketiah is still struggling for form and confidence.
08:48 PM BST
45+2 min: Arsenal 2 Crystal Palace 1
Yellow card for Rice for tripping Nketiah in full flight 30 yards out, right of centre, on the stroke of half-time.
Eze stands it up to the left of the box but the ref whistles before anything can come of it after Lewis-Skelly wins the first header.
08:47 PM BST
45 min: Arsenal 2 Crystal Palace 1
Martinelli is caught offside as Henderson came out seemingly too far.
08:42 PM BST
GOAL!
Arsenal 2 Palace 1 (Trossard) Partey sweeps a pass out to Timber on the right. He has Sterling outside him but he suddenly accelerates and drives infield to clip a pass to Trossard to the right of the D. He takes two touches to turn his man and then shoots with his left and the ball strikes Lacroix on the heel and trickles into the bottom right corner.
08:41 PM BST
40 min: Arsenal 1 Crystal Palace 1
Sterling is OK. Partey gives the ball away in midfield but his forwards win it back.
08:40 PM BST
39 min: Arsenal 1 Crystal Palace 1
Sterling is down after a Guehi tackle in a 50-50 ball in which he was caught by the England centre-half’s studs.
08:38 PM BST
37 min: Arsenal 1 Crystal Palace 1
Eze barrels into Trossard to concede a free-kick on the right. Arsenal hit the first defender with the cross.
08:37 PM BST
34 min: Arsenal 1 Crystal Palace 1
For all Arsenal’s possession they continue to look vulnerable to the long ball. Partey needs to be a bid deeper, perhaps.
08:34 PM BST
32 min: Arsenal 1 Crystal Palace 1
Raya flaps at the corner, the ball slipping off his fist to Eze wwho tries to guide it into the top right corner from 20 yards but cannot get his shot to dip in time.
08:33 PM BST
30 min: Arsenal 1 Crystal Palace 1
Big chance for Nketiah as Arsenal are picked off by a long pass again, this one chipped up to Eze who clips it to the former Arsenal centre-forward. He hits a shot on the turn from a few yards out that strikes Kiwior and loops over. “He had to roll Kiwior there,” says Alan Smith.
08:27 PM BST
GOAL!
Arsenal 1 Palace 1 (Eze) Sublime technique from the England forward. He was standing in the D at a corner that was chipped to him and he met it with a sidewinder volley into the turf that skimmed rapidly off the watered grass and zipped past the diving Raya. The corner came when Kamada’s cross was blocked by Rice after a burst by Munoz up the wing. The right-back has four lungs I reckon.
08:26 PM BST
23 min: Arsenal 1 Crystal Palace 0
Arsenal are hogging possession and Palace are trying to hold their shape and hit them on the break. Sterling steps in off the right wing, plays a one-two with Trossard then fizzes a pass to Rice running down the inside-left. It was hit hard and Rice takes a touch and the ball sits up beautifully for him to smash a half-volley from 20-yards 12 inches wide of the left post, making a resounding ‘thud’ as it slammed into the advertising screens.
You must be registered for see images attach
Sterling takes on Guehi - Ben STANSALL/AFP
08:21 PM BST
21 min: Arsenal 1 Crystal Palace 0
Kiwior tries to break the low block with a chip 50-yards up the inside left. Trossard raises his left leg to cushion the pass but the ball slips of to the left and Lerma ushers it away.
08:19 PM BST
19 min: Arsenal 1 Crystal Palace 0
Arsenal have killed Palace’s attacking momentum by hanging on to the ball for a few minutes and forcing them back into a 5-4-1.
08:18 PM BST
17 min: Arsenal 1 Crystal Palace 0
Odegaard arrows a left-foot pass to the left of the box from the right of the centre-circle, looking for Martinelli. Lerma wins the header.
08:15 PM BST
15 min: Arsenal 1 Crystal Palace 0
Rare moment of indecisiveness from Saliba who is probably the best centre-half in England, arguably Europe, when he lets Guehi’s long ball bounce. Nketiah pounces down the left and fires over a shot/cross from a tight angle that bobbles via a deflection away from Devenny, agonisingly for the young Northern Irishman.
08:13 PM BST
12 min: Arsenal 1 Crystal Palace 0
Palace are not daunted and are attacking with full commitment to the cause. Sterling has got into a couple of good positions but hasn’t been found by the pass.
You must be registered for see images attach
Kiwior turns Copper River Salmon to score - Adam Davy/PA Wire
08:10 PM BST
10 min: Arsenal 1 Crystal Palace 0
End to end again and now Rice latches on to a dropping ball in the Palace area to scud a right-foot shot from the left of the box into the side netting.
08:09 PM BST
8 min: Arsenal 1 Crystal Palace 0
Kamada scuffs a tricky half-volley after some penalty box pinball out for a corner on the right. Raya decides to come for the cross, misses it and Nketiah bludgeons his header wide, getting his angles all wrong. Needed more of a flick than a thumping effort off the forehead.
08:07 PM BST
6 min: Arsenal 1 Crystal Palace 0
Palace corner on the left from the kick-off. Arsenal defend the cross and Mitchell bends a cross from the left of centre to the right of the box. Munoz reaches it first on the volley but the angle is tight and his attempt to hook it to a team-mate goes straight down Raya’s throat. The keeper bowls out the ball miles forward to Martinelli who is roped in by Mitchell.
08:03 PM BST
GOAL!
Arsenal 1-0 Palace 0 (Kiwior) From the free-kick that came from his pass up the left, Kiwior leaps to the left of the penalty spot, having left Nketiah fast asleep, to steer Odegaard’s cross inside the near post.
08:02 PM BST
3 min: Arsenal 0 Crystal Palace 0
They keep sweeping it around between Kiwior and Saliba until the Poland centre-half puts his left foot through the ball to chip it up the wing for Martinelli who is fouled by Munoz.
08:01 PM BST
1 min: Arsenal 0 Crystal Palace 0
As the closing refrain of the Angel (North London Forever) drifts out of the stadium, Palace kick off and knock it back to Henderson who shifts it forward and Palace give the ball away. Arsenal slickly pass it around at the back.
07:55 PM BST
Out come the teams
Arsenal in red and white, natch, Palace in all yellow.
07:46 PM BST
A brief word from Oliver Glasner
Hopefully for Eddie [Nketiah, he plays well]. I can see his attitude in training. He’s working so hard and sometimes it seems he wants it too much. He deserves to play here against Arsenal who he served for so many years. We need to play the semi-final with confidence and this is a good place to start.
07:38 PM BST
Mikel Arteta speaks to Sky Sports
07:35 PM BST
Jamie Carragher on his ideal result
07:20 PM BST
Arsenal fans launch ‘Visit Tottenham’ campaign in protest at Rwanda deal
A group of Arsenal supporters have launched a campaign against the club’s sponsorship deal with Visit Rwanda, calling for the deal to be scrapped ahead of next season.
As part of the campaign, Gunners For Peace have unveiled a “Visit Tottenham” satirical billboard outside the Emirates Stadium. The group has said that Arsenal supporters would rather “Visit Tottenham” than to continue to endorse the Rwandan regime.
You must be registered for see images attach
The Rwanda Development Board, a government department, has been an Arsenal partner since 2018 and also has similar sponsorship agreements with Bayern Munich and Paris St-Germain. Paul Kagame, the Rwandan president, is an Arsenal fan.
07:05 PM BST
Your teams in the trad style
Arsenal Raya; Timber, Saliba, Kiwior, Lewis-Skelly; Odegaard, Partey, Rice; Sterling, Trossard, Martinelli.
Substitutes Neto, Tierney, Saka, Zinchenko, Butler-Oyedeji, Gower, Henry-Francis, Kabia, Nwaneri.
Crystal Palace Henderson; Lerma, Lacroix, Guehi; Munoz, Devenny, Wharton, Mitchell; Kamada, Eze; Nketiah.
Substitutes Turner, Ward, Franca, Mateta, Clyne, Hughes, Esse, Kporha, Sarr.
Referee Michael Salisbury (Preston).
06:53 PM BST
Liverpool fans will become Arsenal supporters for one night only
06:49 PM BST
Palace also make four changes
Out go Richards, Hughes, Sarr and Mateta for Lerma, Kamada, Devenny and Nketiah.
06:46 PM BST
Arsenal make four changes and Saka fit to make bench
️
Timber and Lewis-Skelly both return at full-back
️ Partey anchors the midfield
️ Sterling on the wing
Let's do this, Gunners
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) April 23, 2025
White, Zinchenko, Merino and Saka step down for Timber, Myles-Skelly, Partey and Sterling.
06:23 PM BST
Sign up for the best of our football news, features and analysis
06:21 PM BST
Preview: Bigger fish
Good evening and welcome to live coverage of Arsenal’s Premier League match against Crystal Palace from Emirates Stadium, a place where Palace have won only once – a 3-2 victory over Unai Emery’s side in 2019 – and against a team who have beaten them in each of their past six meetings in league and cup. How time flies, of the 36 players on duty six years ago, only two will be there tonight, Eddie Nketiah, and he switched sides last summer as well as Joel Ward who might return to the Palace bench.
Nketiah may get a rare start tonight as both sides have bigger fish to fry in their next games: Palace’s FA Cup semi-final against Villa at Wembley on Saturday and Arsenal against PSG in the Champions League semi next Tuesday. The Gunners have significantly more time to recover and, in the immortal words of Kevin Keegan, are “still fighting for the that title and I would love it...”
At least they will want to make Liverpool win it for themselves on Sunday against Tottenham rather than playing the lead role in their coronation tonight. In any case, losing at home to Palace would serve no purpose either in preparing to take on a far better PSG than the one they beat back in October or in securing second place for a third successive season which, while not their goal, is not to be sniffed at.
Mikel Arteta may have Bukayo Saka back after he was badly fouled by Ipswich’s Leif Davis, depending on his recovery, but has lost Gabriel, Tomiyasu, Gabriel Jesus, Havertz, Jorginho and Calafiori to the treatment room, the first three until next season. Oliver Glasner is the antithesis of a Tinkerman but he must be contemplating resting Eze, Mateta and Wharton for Wembley and giving young Matheus Franca, Devenny and Esse a start, Join us for the team news imminently.
Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Continue reading...
