Mikel Arteta has apologized for Arsenal’s failure on Monday night. The Gunners members visiting Crystal Palace suffered an embarrassing 3-0 defeat and helped city rivals and arch-rival Tottenham Hotspur in the saddle. Tottenham have now seized the coveted fourth place in the Premier League on goal difference, but have played one more game. In addition to the defeat, Arteta had bad news about Kieran Tierney and Thomas Partey.
Arsenal did not come in handy against Palace. The two early goals against – Arsenal already trailed 2-0 halfway through the first half – will mainly be blamed on Nuno Tavares. The defender came over from Benfica in the summer for eight million euros, but was not convinced at all. To make matters worse, the disappointingly playing Thomas Partey had to drop out after the break with a muscle injury. “He has suffered from that before, so that is cause for concern,” Arteta said afterwards. Tierney also causes headaches at Arteta. The left back came back injured from the international match with Scotland. “Hopefully we’ll know more on Tuesday, but it doesn’t look good.”
Arsenal in trouble ?? The Gunners face a 2-0 deficit at Crystal Palace early on… Will this still be okay? †#ZiggoSport #PremierLeague #CRYARS pic.twitter.com/fwuSHaJOI6
— Ziggo Sport Football (@ZS_Voetbal) April 4, 2022
It was the fifth time that Arsenal have lost a London derby by three goals. Remarkably enough, that also happened against Palace five years ago, when the Eagles were also too strong with 3-0. “We weren’t in the game from the start,” Arteta explained the failure at Sky Sports† “If you play here, you have to fight. You have to win duels, conquer second balls and be aggressive. We were not. And then we were also very bad at the ball. That is unacceptable.” Arsenal were not the only club to be trumped in a London derby this weekend. Chelsea also suffered an embarrassing defeat and were no match for Brentford FC (1-4).
Arteta felt compelled to apologize afterwards. Arsenal are very keen to get their hands on fourth place, as in that case the club is assured of the group stage of the Champions League next season. Arteta’s team has 55 points, just like Tottenham, but played one game less. The two London clubs will meet on May 12. “Now is the time to accept the criticism, raise your hand and apologize,” said Arteta. “We played badly, especially in the first half. I apologize to the supporters. The fact that we couldn’t dominate because we were simply not there irritates me the most. This just wasn’t good enough.”
| No. | Team | m | W | G | v | † | Pnt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Manchester City | 30 | 23 | 4 | 3 | 52 | 73 |
| 2 | Liverpool | 30 | 22 | 6 | 2 | 57 | 72 |
| 3 | Chelsea | 29 | 17 | 8 | 4 | 35 | 59 |
| 4 | Tottenham Hotspur | 30 | 17 | 3 | 10 | 15 | 54 |
| 5 | Arsenal | 29 | 17 | 3 | 9 | 10 | 54 |
| 6 | West Ham United | 31 | 15 | 6 | 10 | 11 | 51 |
| 7 | Manchester United | 30 | 14 | 9 | 7 | 8 | 51 |
| 8 | Wolverhampton W. | 31 | 15 | 4 | 12 | 6 | 49 |
| 9 | Crystal Palace | 30 | 8 | 13 | 9 | 4 | 37 |
| 10 | Leicester City | 28 | 10 | 7 | 11 | -4 | 37 |
| 11 | Aston Villa | 30 | 11 | 3 | 16 | 0 | 36 |
| 12 | Southampton | 30 | 8 | 12 | 10 | -9 | 36 |
| 13 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 30 | 7 | 13 | 10 | -10 | 34 |
| 14 | Brentford | 31 | 9 | 6 | 16 | -11 | 33 |
| 15 | Newcastle United | 30 | 7 | 10 | 13 | -21 | 31 |
| 16 | Leeds United | 31 | 7 | 9 | 15 | -33 | 30 |
| 17 | Everton | 28 | 7 | 4 | 17 | -19 | 25 |
| 18 | Watford | 30 | 6 | 4 | 20 | -28 | 22 |
| 19 | Burnley | 28 | 3 | 12 | 13 | -18 | 21 |
| 20 | Norwich City | 30 | 4 | 6 | 20 | -45 | 18 |