Arsenal’s hopes of clinching a top four spot took another dent, after they were thrashed 3-0 by Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park on Monday night.
The Gunners went close to breaking the deadlock after eight minutes through Mohamed Elneny, who forced Wayne Hennessey into a fine one-handed save from 20-yards out.
However, it was Palace who broke the deadlock in the 17th minute as Wilfried Zaha whipped the ball into the box, where Andros Townsend was on hand to slot the ball beyond Emiliano Martinez, 1-0.
Arsenal pushed for a way back into the encounter but the likes of Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez were finding it tough to carve out chances.
Palace nearly doubled their lead just before the break, but Martinez produced a good save at his near post to deny Christian Benteke from close range.
With Arsenal struggling in the second half, Arsene Wenger introduced Aaron Ramsey and Olivier Giroud for Elneny and Danny Welbeck after 58 minutes.
However, Palace doubled their lead in the 62nd minute as Yohan Cabaye curled the ball into the top corner from the edge of the box, after being teed up by Zaha.
The hosts were then awarded a penalty five minutes later when Townsend was brought down in the box. Luka Milivojevic stepped up and dispatched his spot-kick into the bottom corner, 3-0.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was introduced with 20 minutes remaining, as the Gunners looked to salvage a consolation goal.
However, the Palace defence remained resolute throughout the encounter and denied the visitors any clear-cut chances in the 18-yard area.
Nonetheless, the score remained 3-0 at the full-time whistle, as Wenger’s men remain seven points behind fourth place Manchester City. – Africa Sports24.
