Outplayed, Tierney and Partey injured - What comes next for Arsenal after the Crystal Palace debacle?
If this was the start of the final sprint for the top four, Arsenal would have stumbled dramatically out of the gate.
Things had been going well for Mikel Arteta's Arsenal in the Premier League in 2022, with the Gunners having won six of their last seven games prior to Monday night's trip to Crystal Palace.
With the pressure on after Tottenham's 5-1 thrashing of Newcastle 24 hours earlier, Arsenal produced their worst performance in months, crashing to a 3-0 defeat at Selhurst Park.
It's a defeat that keeps them in fifth place, trailing Spurs on goal difference, despite the fact that they still have one game in hand on their north London rivals. But, perhaps more importantly, it's a defeat that raises serious doubts about Arteta's team's ability to maintain pace in the final weeks of the season.
They were without Kierney due to a knee injury, and there are fears that the Scotland left-back will be out for the rest of the season as a result of the problem, which he picked up while on international duty.
Tierney, who will have a scan on Tuesday to determine the full extent of his injury, was replaced on the left side of the back four by Nuno Tavares, and the 22-year-old had a nightmare.
In the build-up to Jean-Philippe Mateta's opening, the summer signing from Benfica was beaten at the back post by Joachim Andersen. Jean-Philippe Mateta’s opening goal for Crystal Palace and was then caught flat-footed by Jordan Ayew, who doubled the home side’s lead on 24 minutes after an error by Gabriel Magalhaes.
Tavares was replaced at halftime by Arteta, who was replaced by Gabriel Martinelli.
It was the second time in a row that the Portuguese full-back did not even make it out for the second half after being given a start by Arteta.
With nine games remaining in the season and Tierney potentially out for the rest of the season, this is a major issue.
Last season, Arsenal finished with Granit Xhaka as a makeshift left-back, and it cost them dearly in crucial moments, most notably in the final stages of the Europa League.
It's possible that history will repeat itself with the Champions League on the line once more.
To make matters worse for the visitors, they lost Thomas Partey midway through the second half to what appeared to be a thigh injury.
The Ghana international indicated that he needed to leave the field, but the hosts broke through Wilfried Zaha before the ball could be kicked out of play, and they were awarded a penalty when Martin Odegaard tripped the Palace winger.
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