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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.
The crushing defeat at Palace leaves Arsenal in fifth position on goal difference. They still have a game in hand over fourth-placed Tottenham, but considering their performance on Monday night, they can’t afford to be too optimistic.
Here are five Arsenal stars who wildly underperformed at Selhurst Park on Tuesday night.
#5 Nuno Tavares
With Kieran Tierney out with a knee injury, Mikel Arteta decided to give Nuno Tavares a shot at left-back. The 22-year-old unfortunately did his coach no favors and emerged as one of the worst players on the pitch.
He was hesitant on the ball, offered nothing going forward, and was outclassed by Crystal Palace attackers.
Tavares played 26 passes with 78.8 percent accuracy, didn’t have a shot or key pass to his name, lost two of his three ground duels, and gave away possession 13 times.
An outing to forget for the Portuguese youngster.
#4 Gabriel
In Kieran Tierney’s absence, Arsenal’s left-sided centre-back Gabriel had to take some added responsibility. As a result, the defender was all over the place.
The Brazilian could not keep up with Mateta and was partially at fault for both of Crystal Palace’s first-half goals.
Gabriel’s passing was accurate enough (92.6 percent accuracy), but it did his midfielders no favors.
He also lost five of his nine duels, lost possession 10 times, and only one of his four attempted long balls found its target.
#3 Alexandre Lacazette
Arsenal skipper Alexandre Lacazette needed to lead from the front after his team conceded a shock early opener. Instead, the Frenchman completely disappeared, not contributing either in defense or attack.
He dropped unnaturally deep, could not hold up the ball well, and failed to test the keeper even once out of his three attempts.
Over the course of the match, Lacazette made only 17 passes with 77.3 percent accuracy, didn’t create a single chance, and lost five of his seven duels.
Toothless and out of ideas, it was arguably the France international's worst outing in 2022.
#2 Thomas Partey
Former Atletico Madrid star Thomas Partey has been rock-solid for the Gunners this season. Sadly, like most of his teammates, he also endured one of the worst outings of the 2021-22 campaign.
His passing was loose, he was surprisingly outmuscled, offered nothing offensively, and gave the ball away cheaply.
The 28-year-old only played 39 passes, with none being key, lost seven of his 10 duels, and ceded possession 14 times.
He also picked up an injury and was ultimately replaced by Albert Lokonga in the 74th minute.
#1 Martin Odegaard
Former Real Madrid man Martin Odegaard arguably produced his worst-ever performance in an Arsenal shirt on Tuesday night.
Odegaard, who is generally silky-smooth on the ball, struggled to string passes together and failed to make things happen in the final third.
In the 67th minute, Edward Nketiah found Odegaard inside the Palace box with a neat cutback, but the Norwegian completely fluffed his finish.
Five minutes later, he recklessly brought down Zaha inside the box, handing the Eagles a penalty. Zaha confidently beat Ramsdale from the spot to put the hosts 3-0 up.
Against Palace, Odegaard didn’t make a single key pass, lost five of his eight duels, and lost possession 12 times.
A night to forget for the young midfielder.
