Liverpool need just one point to be confirmed the new Premier League champion after Arsenal failed to win at the Emirates Stadium against Crystal Palace.
Despite going into the match against Palace as favourite, Arsenal were held to a 2-2 draw after Jean-Philippe Mateta scored a late equaliser. Speaking after the game, Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta criticised his side’s performance and accused them of dropping their standards.
Arteta was disappointed with the way his team played in what was their final game before they host Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final.
Jean-Philippe Mateta against Arsenal at Emirates Stadium. (Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images)
“We dropped our standards today and credit to Crystal Palace,” said Arteta. “We struggled to find consistency in the game.
“We gave the ball away in simple ways and we were late in everything we did. I am disappointed.
“We have spoke about avoiding our focus being elsewhere. We have enough time to prepare for PSG but today we didn’t deliver enough rights to win the game.”
“[I am] disappointed with the results and with the performance as well. I think we never got the consistency in many areas to completely dominate the game.
“We always had the feeling that yeah, we had the ball, we had possession, we went in front twice, but the game wasn’t grabbed, it wasn’t dominated and controlled in the way that we normally do because we were below the standards in some areas.
“When you are not at your best but you are two times ahead, you have to be able to see the game off, and we weren’t able to do it, especially with what happened in the second goal.”
The draw was Arsenal’s 13th in the Premier League this season and nine of those have come when they have been leading.
It is the most by a team in a season since Tottenham during the 2007-08 campaign and Arteta believes there are a lot of factors behind that.
“Well, we haven’t been able to see the games off for many reasons, and the margins have been too small,” said Arteta.
“Sometimes that’s when I credit to the opposition, it’s true that we played five times with ten men.
“There are a lot of factors, but obviously it’s something that we’ve done much better in the past, especially when we’ve been ahead in games, and today, without really much happening, especially in the second half, we have to be able to see the game off.”
