Mikel Arteta was left fuming by the performance of his Arsenal side after the Gunners were twice pegged back by Crystal Palace to draw 2-2 at the Emirates Stadium.
Jakub Kiwior gave the hosts the lead after just three minutes as the Poland international powered a header past Palace keeper Dean Henderson from Martin Ødegaard’s free-kick, but the brilliant Eberechi Eze levelled for Oliver Glasner’s side from a clever set-piece routine just before the half-hour mark.
Leandro Trossard then restored Arsenal’s lead with a fortunate deflected effort on the stroke of half-time, but substitute Jean Philippe-Mateta capitalised on a William Saliba error to snatch a late draw for Palace.
Arteta said: “Yeah, disappointed with the result 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 we had the ball, we had possession, and we went in front twice, but the game wasn't grabbed; it wasn't dominated and controlled in the way that we normally do.
“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.”
With Arsenal’s massive Champions League semi-final first leg against PSG looming, the Gunners might have been excused for casting their minds elsewhere.
But Arteta was in no mood to entertain the idea of his players looking ahead to the clash with the French giants.
He added: “Hopefully not, but we discussed that before each week, and it wasn't there. Today we had still six days to prepare the match, and I don't want to use that.
“Obviously, we have missed a lot of players, a lot of players that haven't trained at all, that weren't able to do today, so we've been very short. But as well, credit to Palace, they are very well organised, they are a really good side, and they made it difficult for us, and the reality as well that today we weren’t at our best.”
The stalemate with Palace was Arsenal’s 13th of their league season campaign, with 18 points dropped from winning positions during that time.
“Well, we haven't been able to see the games off for many reasons, and the margins have been too small. Sometimes that's when I credit the opposition; it's true we played five times with ten men,” Arteta said.
“There are a lot of factors, but obviously it's something 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.”
Gabriel Martinelli had a goal ruled out by VAR late into the second half with Jurien Timber adjusted to have hooked the ball back in to play in the build-up, and Arteta added: “It took a long time, but I haven't seen the replay yet, so I don't know exactly why the decision was.”
The Gunners host PSG at the Emirates next Tuesday in a mammoth Champions League semi-final first leg.
With Liverpool in need of just a point to secure the Premier League title, Arsenal’s season truly hinges on their European exploits.
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