Arsenal lacks 'energy' in Palace draw

LONDON — Mikel Arteta admitted Arsenal has to get its "energy "back for its Champions League showdown with Paris Saint-Germain, following a lackluster 2-2 draw against Crystal Palace that left Liverpool on the brink of winning the Premier League.

Arteta's side was hoping to warm up for its first Champions League semifinal 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 canceled out by Eberechi Eze's volley in the 27th minute.

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

Second-placed Arsenal is 12 points adrift of Liverpool, and with only four matches left for the north Londoners, Arne Slot's team will seal the title if it avoids defeat against Tottenham at Anfield on Sunday.

Its title hopes effectively over several weeks ago, Arsenal had already shifted its focus to trying to win the Champions League for the first time.

But, the sloppy display against Palace was hardly ideal preparation for the showdown with French champion PSG, which 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 to dominate the game," Arteta said.

"In many aspects we should have done better. Palace were very organized and deserved credit, but we dropped our standards.

"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 the Spaniard 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 since the Gunners 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 replied when asked if Merino and defender Ben White would be fit to face PSG.

It was Arsenal's ninth league draw from a match it was leading this season, the most by a team in a single campaign since north London rival Tottenham's 2007-08 season.

'Most important game'

Arsenal's repeated failure to kill off opponents has resulted in 13 draws from 34 league games, helping put Liverpool within touching distance of a record-equaling 20th English title.

Likely to finish as Premier League runner-up for a third successive season, Arteta's team hopes to end its five-year trophy drought in memorable style in the Champions League.

Arteta insisted it was not distracted by the chance to reach the final for the first time since 2006.

But, he conceded it would be useful for his injury-hit squad to have almost a week off before facing Luis Enrique's men.

"We have spoken about avoiding our focus being elsewhere. We have enough time to prepare for PSG, but today we didn't deliver enough to win the game," he said.

"It is nice to have long gap, we need it, and we need players back to full strength. We have so many players out and not available, and, therefore, you drop certain standards.

"We have the most important game of the season in six days. We need to get our energy back."

With an FA Cup semifinal against Aston Villa on Saturday, Palace could have been forgiven for taking it easy on Wednesday.

Manager Oliver Glasner started with key forwards Mateta and Ismaila Sarr on the bench to keep them fresh for Wembley, but Palace put up a spirited display.

"It was not our goal to decide the title, it was our goal to win the game. A draw is a very good result. More important is the performance. We are back on the track," Glasner said.

AFP