Crystal Palace beat Arsenal 3-0 at Selhurst Park to inflict a fifth defeat in eight outings on their London rivals.
The hosts were ahead 18 minutes in through a well-taken Andros Townsend goal, before Yohan Cabaye added a second with a curler over the reach of Emiliano Martinez.
Luka Milivojevic made no mistake with tucking home number three from the spot, coming after Martinez was adjudged to have brought down Townsend inside the area.
Relive how the 90 minutes of action unfolded with Sports Mole's live text coverage below.
Hello and welcome to Sports Mole's live text coverage of the Premier League meeting between Crystal Palace and Arsenal at Selhurst Park. The Gunners have ground to make up on the top four heading into this contest in South London, sitting seven points behind Manchester City in that final Champions League berth with two games in hand, while Palace are still far from safe at the opposite end of the division.
The pressure has continued to grow on manager Arsene Wenger in recent months, pretty much reaching its nadir with the 3-1 loss to West Bromwich Albion three weeks ago when putting another nail in their top-four coffin. The Frenchman is still yet to officially announce whether he intends to continue beyond the end of the season, despite being "clear" about where his future lies, so every result may play a key part in that eventual decision.
TEAM NEWS!
CRYSTAL PALACE XI: Hennessey; Ward, Kelly, Sakho, Schlupp; Cabaye, Milivojevic; Zaha, Puncheon, Townsend; Benteke
ARSENAL XI: Martinez; Bellerin, Mustafi, Gabriel, Monreal; Elneny, Xhaka; Walcott, Ozil, Sanchez; Welbeck
Starting with a look at the visiting side, Wenger has opted to go with an unchanged XI from the comfortable 3-0 win over West Ham United last time out. Mohamed Elneny and Granit Xhaka therefore continue their partnership in the midfield engine room, while further up the field Danny Welbeck is again preferred to Olivier Giroud in attack. The Frenchman will feel upset about that, having netted in each of his past three visits to this ground.
As expected, Emiliano Martinez also continues between the sticks due to the absence of Petr Cech and David Ospina, who miss out through a calf and back injury respectively. The big call made by Wenger this evening is sticking with the Xhaka-Elneny partnership, with Aaron Ramsey and Francis Coquelin back among the subs, while some perhaps expected Giroud - five goals from the bench this term; the most in the division - to get a run-out from the start.
Arsenal's backline pretty much picks itself in the absence of Laurent Koscielny, who sits out a second game in succession due to the recent Achilles injury picked up. Hector Bellerin and Nacho Monreal occupy the two full-back slots, while Shkodran Mustafi and Gabriel Paulista link up in the heart of defence. It is in that three-man attacking midfield where things start to get exciting for the Gunners - star men Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez being joined by Theo Walcott.
Switching attention to the hosts, it is a similar story because they also stick with an unchanged XI. Sam Allardyce may have seen his side's four-game winning run come to an end at Southampton in their last outing, going down 3-1 on the South Coast in a game that saw them take the lead, but he is going with the same players from the off. That means a milestone 250th club appearance for Andros Townsend and 300th for Joel Ward.
Palace can field an entire side with injured players, incredibly, so it is hard not to feel a little sympathetic for Allardyce. The ex-England boss is also minus Joe Ledley once again this evening, a week on from the birth of his son - not sure if the two are linked, or if he has also picked up an injury problem - and James McArthur only makes the bench following his recent injury issues.
Scott Dann, Patrick van Aanholt and James Tomkins are just three players to miss out for the hosts this evening, but there is good news in attack as Christian Benteke is fit and firing once again. The Belgian has returned from the international break reinvigorated, in the words of his manager, scoring two goals in his last two outings since returning to club football. Benteke has scored just two of his 11 league goals at home this season, though, both coming against Southampton in December.
BENCH WATCH!
CRYSTAL PALACE SUBS: Speroni, Delaney, Fryers, Flamini, McArthur, Sako, Kaikai
ARSENAL SUBS: Macey, Mertesacker, Gibbs, Coquelin, Ramsey, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Giroud
The Gunners are on to their third keeper due to the untimely injuries picked up by Cech and Ospina, so Matt Macey is waiting in deputy should he be needed. Coquelin is also back among the subs after missing the West Ham game for personal reasons, while Giroud - a goalscorer three games in a row here - offers good back-up in attack. In terms of the hosts, they are again minus Ledley but do have former Gunner Mathieu Flamini in reserve.
Both teams have gone with unchanged starting lineups this evening, meaning a chance for Granit Xhaka and Mohamed Elneny to bolster their partnership in Arsenal's midfield engine room. Crystal Palace have been hit by numerous injury problems of late, with enough absentees tonight to just about name a separate 11-man side, but Yohan Cabaye has managed to shake off a slight knock in time to feature.
Palace head into this match sitting 16th in the table, three points clear of the relegation zone with two games in hand to play. The Eagles appear to be on the up after recently stringing together four wins in a row, yet the defeat to Southampton last week sent them crashing back down to earth and they have an extremely tough run of games to see out the campaign. They say these meetings against the division's elite are 'bonus fixtures', but Allardyce will be targeting a point from this one.
Not so long ago things were looking particularly bleak for the Eagles, even struggling to put together a run of results under survival expert Allardyce in his early weeks at the helm. It did not took too much longer for him to finally get his defensive unit set, however, bolstered by Mamadou Sakho on loan from Liverpool and January recruit Luka Milivojevic - a real rock in front of that back four - and they have since been far, far steadier.
To higlight just how much stronger they look at the back all of a sudden, during their recent run of four-successive wins Palace shipped just the one goal. They did concede three times at Southampton five days ago, granted, but any side that can look fairly strong against champions-elect Chelsea has to be taken seriously. That was a game-changer of a result in many ways for the Eagles, coming at a time when they had finally found their feet and allowing them to push further clear.
They are now three wins away from hitting the magic 40-point mark, usually seen as being enough to survive for another season. Their recent revival really did come at the right time, as Palace face Liverpool, Manchester City and Manchester United away from home during the run-in, as well as Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur here. It goes without saying that their three-point advantage on the bottom three is very fine, with one win perhaps needed from those aforementioned fixtures.
Palace also face Leicester City, Burnley and Hull City here in the final six weeks of the campaign, all of which you would back them to win, but should they fail to do so then the only way they will hit 40 points is by pulling off a shock result over the so-called big boys of the division. Realistically, this is their best shot at achieving that as they come up against a frail Arsenal side that is still lacking in confidence, even if they did pick up three points last week.
DID YOU KNOW? Crystal Palace have managed to turn their home form around of late, winning back-to-back games against Watford and Middlesbrough here to put their 4-0 thrashing at the hands of Sunderland to one side. They could therefore win three on the bounce at Selhurst Park this evening to equal their Premier League best, although defeat and they will become the first team to lose seven London derbies in a row.
Sam Allardyce took time to get going at Crystal Palace, but he has finally managed to make his side far tougher to break - thanks in no small part to Mamadou Sakho and Luka Milivojevic coming in during the January window - and the Eagles are now three clear of the drop with two games in hand to come. Their fixture list is daunting to say the least, though, meaning that they will be targeting at least a point from tonight's game to keep them ticking towards the 40-point mark.
Arsenal sit sixth in the table ahead of kickoff in North London, three points adrift of Manchester United in fifth with a better goal difference and seven off Manchester City. We are now into the final throes of the season and it is looking increasingly likely that the Gunners will miss out on a top-four finish for the first time in more than two decades, with their misery compounded further by the fact that Tottenham Hotspur will certainly finish above them.
There are now essentially four teams left battling it out for two remaining Champions League spots, as Chelsea and Tottenham have pulled away and are in a two-way tussle for the title - some would say it is already over. Man City and Liverpool are best placed to kick on and nail down third and fourth spot, but Arsenal - and to a lesser extent United, who are now prioritising the backdoor entrance into the Champions League - will have something to say about that in the next month-and-a-half.
Arsenal are now in a position where, even if they do win their two games in hand, they will still find themselves on the outside looking in at the top four - their minimum league target for the season. One step at a time will be the message from under-fire boss Wenger, who can at least take his side above United into fifth this evening while at the same time pulling away from Everton, who are refusing to give up home of themselves finishing in the top four or five.
There remains plenty of doubt over Wenger's position, with reports suggesting over the weekend that a two-year contract is on the brink of being signed. The Frenchman has constantly batted away questions, insisting that an official announcement will be made "soon", which will likely mean after this month's inevitable FA Cup semi-final win over Man City. It really is groundhog day in that part of North London; Wenger always seemingly doing just about enough to generate enough hope before it all comes crashing back down in the early months of the following campaign.
The Gunners have endured a very difficult run, picking up just three wins from 10 - two of those victories coming against lower-league opposition - prior to last week's 3-0 win over West Ham United. It is still just that one win in four Premier League outings, though, and two in seven going further back to mid-January. There have been suggestions from some pundits, Niall Quinn among them, that there is a power shift taking place in North London, though it is surely too soon to reach that conclusion.
Arsenal face two sides in the relegation mix in their remaining fixtures, two teams camped in mid-table - the best sides to face at this time of the season - and three opponents currently sat around them. Games against Man United, Tottenham and Everton will go a long way to deciding where exactly the Gunners finish this term, but picking up three points tonight is an absolute must if they are to keep the pressure alive on fourth-placed Man City.
With six weeks or so of the season left to play, Arsenal could still end the season sitting in fourth place and with a third FA Cup in the space of four years - job done for Wenger, in his opinion at least. The opposite could also be true, though, and despite currently having more points now than they did at the same stage 12 months ago, there is no denying that a glance at the league table makes grim viewing for those Gunners fans. This is a pivotal point in their season and they must now build some momentum.
PREVIOUS MEETINGS! Crystal Palace have just two wins in 33 top-flight meetings with Arsenal, drawing nine and losing 22 of those. The Eagles have scored six goals in the last 12 league encounters, which also does not sound all that promising, while Arsene Wenger has never been on the end of a defeat against the South London side. It all points to a comfortable away win - if only football was that simple!
With kickoff now a little over five minutes away at Selhurst Park, let us turn attention to some pre-match thoughts from both camps.
Sam Allardyce: "I can see it going right to the wire. In the end it will be about who can hold their nerve and that is the big key to success when the pressure is on you at this level. You've got to be very brave and stand up and be counted in those situations if you want to survive and be in the Premier League next year."
Arsene Wenger: "We came out of a very difficult period and what we have shown is that we are united and focused and determined to do things right again. That was questioned for a while and I think we gave the right response. We have to show that focus now until the end of the season. There's still a lot to fight for."
Wenger claims that his side are now "united" following their recent difficult run, but a look at their results show that they have still won just one of their last four and are in desperate risk of missing out on the top four for the first time in two decades. Allardyce, involved in another relegation scrap this season, expects the fight for survival to go right down to the wire and will see this as a chance to pick up a win against a frail opponent.
Both sets of players are now out on the field of play, with kickoff in South London just a couple of minutes away. Crystal Palace and Arsenal both go with an unchanged lineup this evening, as the Gunners aim to avoid an unwanted record of losing four away games on the bounce for the first time. Plenty to play for at Selhurst Park in a match that will have a say an events at both ends of the division.
KICKOFF! Arsenal, in their changed yellow strip tonight, get us up and running at Selhurst Park. A sold-out crowd here this evening, as Crystal Palace look to pull further clear of the relegation zone with three points against their London rivals.
Emiliano Martinez with a nice comfortable ball to collect, further easing nerves that may still be lingering. The Gunners' third-choice keeper has three clean sheets in his four first-time outings this season, incidentally.
Superb play from Sakho in the opposition box, as he brings the ball under control and picks out an unmarked Cabaye 16 yards from goal. The Frenchman got under it and sent his shot high over the bar from what was the first half-chance of the game.
SHOT! Palace standing firm at the back so far, helped by the presence of Luka Milivojevic in front of the back four. The midfielder is given time to compose himself 20 yards out when venturing forward and flashes one narrowly wide.
Mustafi very fortunate to avoid seeing a yellow card for a challenge on Benteke in the build-up to that Milivojevic strike. Promising start from the hosts, who are not simply sitting back and soaking up the pressure this evening.
SAVE! For the first time tonight the Palace defence is put under some pressure. The ball is not properly cleared away and Elneny looked to pick out the far corner with his shot, which Hennessey did very well to push aside.
A poor clearance from Martinez allows Palace to put on some pressure. Arsenal defend well enough and the hosts' attack finally ends with Zaha's header, with Benteke the man they would have wanted on the end of that opening.
A bit of confusion at the back for Palace but Welbeck cannot quite bring the ball under control, Kelly doing enough to concede just a corner and not an opening goal. Pretty much end-to-end stuff so far in South London.
GOAL! CRYSTAL PALACE 1-0 ARSENAL (ANDROS TOWNSEND)
Palace take the lead at Selhurst Park through a strike from former Spurs man Andros Townsend! Cabaye slipped the ball through for Zaha down the right-hand side, and in turn - despite slipping when making contact - the winger spotted Townsend to thump it past Martinez.
It had been a fairly balanced to the match prior to that Palace goal, so while it was not deserved as such the Gunners cannot complain too much. Selhurst Park really is rocking now, with a six-point margin being opened up at the bottom at this rate.
SAVE! The Gunners put the Palace defence under some pressure once again. Sanchez is buzzing around in the area and gets on the end of a loose ball, which he sweeps goalwards but not with enough pace to get the better of in-form Hennessey.
YELLOW CARD! Shkodran Mustafi is cautioned this time by Michael Oliver, having avoided one earlier for a similar challenge. Zaha slips it through for Cabaye, who is denied by Martinez - flag was up for offside, regardless.
CLOSE! Arsenal certainly looking more of a threat now, as Monreal does well down the flank and spots Sanchez. The Chilean takes on the shot, sending the ball marginally wide of the far post with Hennessey rooted.
A decent enough response by the Gunners, who are implying far more pressure now. Palace quite happy with that, though, because they are being given the chance to counter through Zaha and Townsend down either flank.
Elneny taking his destroyer role a little too seriously, taking down Milivojevic and giving Cabaye a chance to chip a free kick into the ball. It is not dealt with by the Gunners' defence and Kelly saw his shot blocked from close range.
Zaha has now played a part in four goals in his last five league outings, having played in a decent ball for Townsend to convert for the opener this evening. Little between the sides once again over the past five minutes or so.
BLOCK! Ozil with his best moment of the match so far, working his way into the area and picking out Sanchez in a good position. The Chilean's first-time shot from close range was superbly blocked on the ground by Sakho.
Zaha is really giving Bellerin something to think about down his right-hand flank. The winger this time cuts inside and picks out opening goalscorer Townsend, who this time smashes it well over the crossbar.
Bellerin with a howler that he somehow gets away with, as Benteke cannot quite adjust his feet quickly enough to take on the shot. Arsenal are soon up the other end and winning a corner kick, which is too deep for Mustafi to do anything with.
Plenty of attacking play at both ends to suggest that we could well have a second goal prior to the break. Bellerin is drawn into a foul 30 yards from goal, giving Palace to either take on the shot or get a cross into the box.
Cabaye takes on the angled free kick, which was one of those that was goalbound and needed just a slight touch. Straight through on this occasion, though, with Martinez happy to collect with relative ease.
SAVE! Really good stop from Martinez, who is doing his hopes of retaining the shirt no harm. Benteke has a clean sight of goal and decides to go for the front post, but the third-choice Arsenal keeper's strong hand helped it behind.
Welbeck not far away at all with his half-volleyed attempt from a tight angle after peeling off his man. That will likely be the last real attacking move of the opening 45 minutes at Selhurst Park, with half time seconds away.
HALF TIME: CRYSTAL PALACE 1-0 ARSENAL
Arsenal win a corner in the dying stages of the first half, which Gabriel does well to get his head on and direct towards goal. A fairly routine diving catch from Hennessey in the end, ensuring that his side head into the break sitting on a slender one-goal lead.
Luka Milivojevic produced another commanding showing in front of the back four and even ventured forward at times, flashing one long-range effort narrowly wide from the first real attack of the match. The Gunners' first sight of goal fell to another unlikely source, as Mohamed Elneny - again selected alongside Granit Xhaka in the engine room - guided the ball towards the far corner but was kept out by Wayne Hennessey.
There was not a great deal between the two unchanged sides in the opening 18 minutes or so of the contest, at which point the Eagles flipped the switch and found the opener through a belting finish from former Tottenham Hotspur winger Andros Townsend five yards out. Some good work from Wilfried Zaha created the goal, with the in-form wideman managing to pick out his teammate despite losing his footing when delivering the pass.
Arsenal failed to put together too much of a response in the remainder of the first half, coming closest to a leveller through a Shkodran Mustafi header in the dying stages after he directed the ball on target for Hennessey to routinely collect. Prior to that, Alexis Sanchez saw one weak attempt kept out by Hennessey and another drift narrowly wide, while the lively Chilean was also thwarted by a fine Mamadou Sakho block in front of goal.
For all of Arsenal's threats, Palace created the next big chance as Christian Benteke - with two in two since the international break - was slotted through down the left but denied by a big Emiliano Martinez hand. Will that spark Arsene Wenger into action at the interval? Here is a reminder of the subs available to both managers at the midway point...
CRYSTAL PALACE SUBS: Speroni, Delaney, Fryers, Flamini, McArthur, Sako, Kaikai
ARSENAL SUBS: Macey, Mertesacker, Gibbs, Coquelin, Ramsey, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Giroud
RESTART! We are back under way at Selhurst Park, where the two sides still remain unchanged. Not surprising in Palace's case but I did half expect Wenger to perhaps turn to Giroud for the start of this second half.
An early chance for Arsenal to put their opponents under some pressure after Sakho conceded a free kick, but Ozil's whipped delivery from wide had too much on it and went straight out of play towards the back post.
BLOCK! Zaha in good form at the moment and he again gets the beating of his man down the right, only for the cross to go straight out. Not to worry - from the next attack Benteke is spotted, turns in the box and is denied only by a superb Bellerin block.
GOAL DISALLOWED! Pressure from Palace really starting to tell now. A scramble inside the box ends with the ball dropping perfectly to Benteke to roll it home from just a few yards out, but the offside flag was quickly up.
SAVE! Yet again Arsenal look dreadful when defending the set piece, as Puncheon gets his head on the ball and directs it towards the top corner. Martinez, who is having an assured game, gets across to comfortably keep it out.
The Gunners' turn to enjoy a prolonged spell of pressure, but it comes to little in the end. Hennessey not had a great deal to do so far this evening, producing just the one serious save to keep out Elneny's first-half effort.
It is Palace who should have bagged the game's second goal through their numerous openings, but a mixture of slack finishing and good goalkeeping has kept the scoreline very slender. Bellerin volleys wide at the back post.
ARSENAL SUBS! An hour into the game and Wenger has made his first changes. Elneny is replaced by the more attack-minded Aaron Ramsey, while Olivier Giroud - who loves this ground, remember - is on for Welbeck.
The Eagles not getting forward quite so much now, which is perhaps understandable with 28 minutes to go. Still look very bright on the counter, though, and are causing their opponents problems whenever they got forward in numbers.
GOAL! CRYSTAL PALACE 2-0 ARSENAL (YOHAN CABAYE)
Sensational finish from one-time Arsenal target Cabaye to surely all but end the Gunners' top-four hopes. Another assist from Zaha out on the right, this time picking out the Frenchman who guided the ball over the reach of Martinez for number two.
PENALTY TO CRYSTAL PALACE! Townsend is played through and brought to ground by Martinez, who did not need to commit to the challenge. Just a minute beforehand Giroud was claiming a penalty at the other end when brought down by Sakho.
GOAL! CRYSTAL PALACE 3-0 ARSENAL (LUKA MILIVOJEVIC)
Palace have a third goal of the evening! A contentious penalty, having seen a couple of replays, but I stand by the initial call - no need for Martinez to dive in on Townsend, who has a reputation for looking for pens. Milivojevic tucks the pen into the bottom corner.
The Gunners putting some pressure on now but it counts for little - this one is all over, as could well be the case for Arsene Wenger. Is there any coming back from this latest disastrous result? Probably, but he will have to fend off even more questions.
CRYSTAL PALACE SUB! A first home change of the evening, as James McArthur replaces scorer of the second goal Yohan Cabaye. Pretty much all Arsenal now as they look for a route back into this London derby.
Another testing night for Arsene Wenger, then, with his side's top-four hopes likely to come to an end. Seven points is the margin on Manchester City in fourth and they now have just the one game in hand to play. One goal could change all that...
Sakho putting his body on the line to keep this clean sheet intact. The Gunners completely bossing the ball since going three down but they are creating next to nothing, which will suit a rejuvenated Palace just fine.
CRYSTAL PALACE SUB! Luka Milivojevic with another really impressive display this evening, both in defence and attack thanks to that penalty he tucked away for goal number three. Former Arsenal ace Mathieu Flamini on in his place.
This match is just petering out for the Gunners now, as they continue to struggle when it comes to that final ball. Palace have taken their chances and were even able to squander a couple, against an Arsenal side completely out of sorts right now.
The travelling supporters continue with their chants of "you're not fit to wear the shirt", as another attack fizzles out. Those Arsenal players will just be hoping for full time and to get this one out of their system.
CLOSE! Townsend spots Benteke, who was left free in a good position. The first-time shot looked to be just about creeping wide, or maybe clipping the post, but Monreal got his body in the way to block it aside.
CRYSTAL PALACE SUB! Zaha has been brilliant once again tonight, adding another couple of assists to his growing tally. The winger is replaced by Damien Delaney for the final couple of minute, as Allardyce adds some defensive reinforcements.
Palace finding all sorts of gaps now on the counter and could well add a fourth prior to the full-time whistle. No need to look for the corner, with the points already firmly in the bag heading into the final stages here.
We are midway through four added-on minutes at Selhurst Park. No sign of Arsenal finding a way through at the moment, with Palace seeing this one through with ease. Home fans loving every second of this!
FULL TIME: CRYSTAL PALACE 3-0 ARSENAL
The fallout from this one is yet to begin, with Arsene Wenger no doubt having to answer many more questions on his future. Andros Townsend got the ball rolling in what turned out to be a 3-0 destruction in Crystal Palace's favour, before Yohan Cabaye and Luka Milivojevic added to the scoring. Arsenal have now lost five of their last eight Premier League outings and are surely - surely! - out of top-four contention.
That concludes Sports Mole's live text coverage of events at Selhurst Park. An on-the-whistle report can be found by clicking here, while reaction from both camps will follow in the next 30 minutes or so. Thanks for joining!
