Frenchman’s side lose vital ground in battle for fourth on a night when they showed little appetite for the fight against opponents who scented blood
When Arsène Wenger drove into the Arsenal training ground last Tuesday he was greeted by a sight that spoke loudly on several levels: a grown man had put on the full Arsenal kit and was holding aloft a mock “fourth-place trophy”. It was yet another protest against Wenger’s regime.
Never mind the ridicule, Wenger would gladly sign up for another fourth-place finish after what has been an impossibly stressful campaign. But the chances of that happening look increasingly slim. It was not only the scale of this defeat by Sam Allardyce’s resurgent Crystal Palace that sucked the optimism out of Wenger but the manner of it.
Related: Andros Townsend and Crystal Palace crush Arsenal’s top-four hopes
Related: Arsène Wenger defiant despite Arsenal’s ‘damaging’ defeat at Crystal Palace
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