Arsenal Stumble Against Crystal Palace Ahead of PSG Clash

AFP/APP

London: Mikel Arteta admitted Arsenal have to get their “energy” back for the Champions League showdown with Paris Saint-Germain after a lacklustre 2-2 draw against Crystal Palace left Liverpool on the brink of winning the Premier League.

Arteta’s side were hoping to warm up for their first Champions League semi-final appearance since 2009 with a victory over Palace at the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday. But Jakub Kiwior’s third-minute header for the Gunners was cancelled out by Eberechi Eze’s volley in the 27th minute.

Leandro Trossard’s strike put Arsenal back in front three minutes before half-time, only for Palace substitute Jean-Philippe Mateta to loft a brilliant lob over out of position keeper David Raya in the 83rd minute.

Second-placed Arsenal are 12 points adrift of Liverpool, and with only four matches left for the north Londoners, Arne Slot’s team will seal the title if they avoid defeat against Tottenham at Anfield on Sunday. Their title hopes effectively over several weeks ago, Arsenal were already focused on winning the Champions League for the first time.

But the sloppy display against Palace was hardly ideal preparation for the showdown with French champions PSG, who have eliminated Liverpool and Aston Villa en route to the last four.

“We are disappointed with the result and performance. We didn’t find enough consistency in actions to dominate the game,” Arteta said. “In many aspects we should have done better. Palace were very organised and deserved credit, but we dropped our standards. We struggled to find consistency. We gave the ball away in simple ways and we were late in everything we did. We have to do much better.”

Adding to Arteta’s concerns is an injury to Mikel Merino that kept him out of the Palace game and could sideline him against PSG. Merino is a midfielder by trade but has been operating as an effective makeshift striker after Arsenal were hit by injuries to Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus.

“We will have to wait and see as they were not able to be in the squad here,” Arteta said when asked if Merino and defender Ben White would be fit to face PSG. It was Arsenal’s ninth league draw in a match they were leading this season, the most by a team in a single campaign since Tottenham in 2007-08.