Arsenal held to disappointing Crystal Palace draw but Liverpool title celebrations still on ice | OneFootball

Arsenal prevented Liverpool from being crowned Premier League champions without kicking a ball despite conceding a late goal in a 2-2 draw against Crystal Palace.

Mikel Arteta’s players knew that a defeat at the Emirates would see Liverpool take the title, but the home side were ahead inside three minutes through Jakub Kiwior.

Eberechi Eze’s superb volley from a corner hauled Palace level before Leandro Trossard scored his third goal in two matches to restore Arsenal’s advantage.

Arsenal looked on course to take all three points but a sloppy pass by William Saliba allowed Palace substitute Jean-Philippe Mateta to strike with seven minutes left.

The Gunners are 12 points adrift of Liverpool and, with only the same number of points available across their remaining four matches, Arne Slot’s squad will seal the title with a draw against Tottenham at Anfield on Sunday.

Arteta’s side will now turn their attention to next week’s opening leg of their Champions League semi-final against Paris Saint-Germain with Palace to face Aston Villa at Wembley on Saturday as they bid for a place in the FA Cup final.

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Jean-Philippe Mateta scored a sublime late equaliser (REUTERS)

Arsenal’s title challenge has long since faded, and for a third consecutive season they look set to finish as runners-up. But Arteta and his players will have been desperate to avoid handing the title to Liverpool by losing against Palace.

With their match against PSG just six days away, Bukayo Saka dropped to the bench, but Arsenal were ahead after just 145 seconds.

Kiwior broke free of the Palace defence to arrive unmarked to Martin Odegaard’s free-kick to head home just the third goal of his Arsenal career.

To their credit, Palace responded well, and former Arsenal man Eddie Nketiah headed wide from a corner before scuffing a shot when he might have done better. But Palace were soon on level terms when Eze produced a moment of magic.

Standing unmarked on the edge of Arsenal’s penalty area, Eze fired Adam Wharton’s pinpoint corner on the volley, into the ground, and into the net, via the inside of David Raya’s post.

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Jakub Kiwior’s bullet header gave Arsenal an early lead (Getty Images)

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And Leandro Trossard restored their advantage after Eberechi Eze’s equaliser (PA Wire)

Palace had their tails up, and Nketiah nearly put the visitors ahead after he wriggled free of Kiwior only to see his shot hit the Pole’s outstretched leg.

Thomas Partey’s suspension could see Mikel Merino, who was absent from Arsenal’s squad here, revert to midfield for the game against PSG and allow Trossard to lead the attack.

And after his double against Ipswich on Sunday, Trossard was back among the scorers three minutes before half-time when he picked up Jurrien Timber’s pass and unleashed a shot which took a slight deflection off Maxence Lacroix’s studs past Dean Henderson. The former Brighton man goaded the visiting Palace fans by cupping his ear in their direction.

After the break, Raya was called into action when he tipped over Justin Devenny’s effort and then denied Marc Guehi’s header from the resulting corner.

At the other end, Gabriel Martinelli had a goal chalked off after Timber failed to keep the ball in as he cut it back for his team-mate.

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Arsenal were left disappointed by a draw (Action Images via Reuters)

Substitute Saka’s side-footed volley from Martinelli’s cross was palmed over by Henderson with 10 minutes left, but there would be another twist when Palace equalised moments later.

A casual Saliba saw his attempted pass to Odegaard intercepted by Mateta, and the striker, having only just been brought on, spotted Raya out of position before he produced a sublime finish to chip the ball over the Spaniard’s head.

Eight minutes of injury time followed but a nervy Arsenal saw out the draw with Liverpool forced to put the champagne back on ice.