Mikel Arteta conceded Arsenal “didn’t find enough consistency” against Crystal Palace as the Gunners were held to a 2-2 draw.
Arteta’s side were twice pegged back at the Emirates Stadium, failing to win a Premier League game when leading on two occasions for only the third time under Arteta.
Jakub Kiwior and Leandro Trossard saw efforts cancelled out by Eberechi Eze and Jean-Philippe Mateta, who capitalised on a William Saliba error by lobbing David Raya from distance.
It was Arsenal’s ninth Premier League draw in a match in which they had been leading this season, the most by a team in a single campaign since Tottenham in 2007-08 (also nine).
That leaves the Gunners 12 points behind leaders Liverpool with four games remaining, meaning the Reds require a single point to claim their Premier League crown.
And Arteta knows his side “should have done better” against Palace.
“We are disappointed with the result and performance,” he told Sky Sports. “We didn’t find enough consistency in actions to dominate the game. It’s part of football and cost us two points.
“It can be difficult. In many aspects of the game, we should have done better today.
“We require the consistency. Today, they were very organised and deserved credit. We have to do much better.”
Arsenal now turn their attention to next week’s blockbuster Champions League semi-final first leg against Paris Saint-Germain at the Emirates.
“The quality today wasn’t there, compared to our last game [the 4-0 victory over Ipswich Town],” Trossard added. “We were nowhere near that, and we got punished. We need to raise the level with our big game coming up.
“We want to win every game, in any competition. Especially after the last game, we had a good feeling. We just need to be better. It was just the basics sometimes; not passing on the right foot or taking a touch too much.
“It will be good to have six days now and prepare for this [PSG] game with 100% focus. It will be a different performance.”
Onto next Tuesday – together.
Thanks for your support once again, Goonerspic.twitter.com/85PrZDzWQL
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) April 23, 2025
Meanwhile, Palace claimed a morale-boosting point ahead of their own semi-final against Aston Villa in the FA Cup on Saturday.
The Eagles had conceded 10 goals in their previous two away games, and Oliver Glasner was pleased his side were able to stop the rot.
“Credit to the players. The reaction [to recent results] was amazing today. I’m proud of what the players showed,” he said.
“We scored amazing goals. I watched many Arsenal games, and I can’t remember a team with as many clear chances as we had.
“We want to show our identity and personality. It’s important to keep this energy and confidence for the semi-final on Saturday.
“It was not our goal to decide the title, it was our goal to win the game. I think a draw is a very good result. More important is the performance. We are back on track. That’s what we need.”
Mateta rescued a point for Palace with his moment of individual brilliance just three minutes after coming onto the pitch.
And the Eagles’ top scorer this season revealed he had observed Raya closely from the sidelines, before subsequently executing “one of the best goals of my career” with his audacious long-range chip.
“When I started on the bench, I could see he [David Raya] was very high up the pitch,” Mateta told BBC Sport. “So, I knew if I won the ball, I could try, so I did and scored.
“It is one of the best goals of my career. I thought it hit the crossbar, but thankfully, it was in!”
On Saturday’s meeting with Villa, he added: “We can go in with confidence and, hopefully, we will win the semi-final. It is a very big game for the fans, for everybody, and I can’t wait to play.”
