Arsenal were flat all night and got what they deserved against their senior hosts. They remain fifth in the table in goal difference behind the Spurs and, while having a game in hand, must visit their opponents in north London next month. “We were not in the games, especially in the first half,” said Arteta. “We were late for every ball, we were soft in duels and we did not win the right to play. We were sloppy on the ball and had no dominance, no turn of the game where we could take control of the game and conceded two bad goals [before half-time]. It is generally unacceptable. We raise our hands, we apologize, we reorganize “. Asked if he had seen the defeat coming, Arteta said Arsenal did not heed his warnings before the game. “No, I could not see it,” he said. “We discussed it shortly before the start, the way you win here is when you fight properly. This means that you win duels, have a presence and composure on the field to manage specific situations. They are a really natural team and the pitch is not the best place to do that, so you have to find a way to do other things that you usually do not need to do. We did not make it. “ Kieran Tierney, who could miss the rest of the season due to a knee injury, was absent and Thomas Partey left early in a development that was clearly Arteta. The depth of the Arsenal team is already small, but Arteta refused to use it as a mitigation. Patrick Vieira was excited about the way his team played against Arsenal, his old team. Photo: Mike Hewitt / Getty Images “It’s what we have,” he said. “We lost Kieran, we lost Thomas now and finally. “With the players we have, we will try, as we have been trying since the beginning of the season.” Patrick Vieira was thrilled with the Palace’s performance against his old team, which gave it its first home win since December 28. “I’m really proud,” he said. “We played a very good football game. “We defended well and took our chances.”
