Arsenal’s stand-in captain Theo Walcott admitted it was apparent from kick-off that Crystal Palace “wanted it more” at Selhurst Park.
The scoresheet certainly seemed to reflect a dramatic disparity in the motivation of both sides as Palace secured a thoroughly merited 3-0 win over Arsenal, Andros Townsend, Yohan Cabaye and Luka Milivojevic providing the goals.
It could have been worse for Arsenal, whose shambolic rearguard was rifled through at will by Wilfried Zaha and Christian Benteke.
In attack Arsenal were toothless, dominating possession yet contriving to create fewer chances than their hosts, and Walcott admitted that the upset was on the cards from the kick-off.
“We thought we had bounced back from that bad patch with the draw against Manchester City and win against West Ham,” he told Sky Sports. “It doesn't look like it after this.
“That wasn't us tonight. We are all disappointed in the changing room, like the fans are - we let them down.
“We don't go out there to lose games, we work the best we can. Tonight it didn't happen. We can only apologise.
“They wanted it more. You could sense that from the kick-off.”
Defeat leaves Arsenal’s hopes of qualifying for the Champions League hanging by a thread and will lead to even greater pressure on Arsene Wenger.
The Gunners sit sixth, seven points off fourth-placed Manchester City with a game in hand.
