Arsenal 2 Crystal Palace 2 – Towering Kiwior, sloppy Saliba, Trossard’s confidence boost

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Arsenal made champions-elect Liverpool wait once more — but only just as Crystal Palace pushed them all the way in an entertaining draw at The Emirates.

Liverpool would have been crowned champions had Arsenal been beaten at home but Jakub Kiwior got Mikel Arteta’s team off to the perfect start from yet another set piece. His towering header from 15 yards from Martin Odegaard’s free kick flew beyond Dean Henderson.

Palace were level from a set piece of their own when Adam Wharton’s corner was superbly volleyed home from the edge of the box by Eberechi Eze in the 27th minute.

Leandro Trossard, starting as the No 9, restored the lead three minutes before half-time when he tricked two defenders and fired home.

Palace, before their FA Cup semi-final with Aston Villa at the weekend, threatened throughout the second period and were level eight minutes from time when William Saliba’s poor pass was pounced upon by Jean-Phillippe Mateta, whose stunning, deft chip sailed over David Raya.

Arsenal, with one eye on their Champions League date with Paris Saint-Germain, were holding on in added time as Ismaila Sarr was denied by Saliba’s block. It meant Arsenal had to settle for a 13th draw of the season.

The Athletic’s Jordan Campbell analyses the talking points.

Kiwior stands tall (again)

Stepping into Gabriel Magalhaes’ shoes is something Kiwior did better than most could have imagined against Real Madrid.

The focus has been on filling the defensive hole the Brazilian left at the heart of Arsenal’s defence but Kiwior produced a first-half headed goal that suggests he could also replace some of the set-piece threat left vacant by Gabriel’s injury.

Arsenal and Palace came into the game as the league’s two strongest set-piece sides this season, and it didn’t take long to see why.

Odegaard’s free-kick delivery from deep saw Arsenal’s players start off in their usual offside position before darting towards the front of the box.

Kiwior met the ball in space but he had a lot of work to do to redirect the ball as he had to stall his run and generate power on the ball. But he timed his leap perfectly and beat Dean Henderson at the near post for his first goal of the season.

The Arsenal set-piece machine roars again! 🔥

Jakub Kiwior nets his first goal of the season for Arsenal 🔴 pic.twitter.com/U9Lx6GiTgr

— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) April 23, 2025

And for U.S. readers

“As simple as that!” 💥

Jakub Kiwior gets the Gunners off to a flying start.

📺 USA Network pic.twitter.com/XIqPtnoTkY

— NBC Sports Soccer (@NBCSportsSoccer) April 23, 2025

The Poland defender looks like he is growing into the team with each game. His goal-saving lunge just yards from goal to deny Eddie Nketiah was the sort of defending that he loves but Kiwior’s issues have mostly been on the ball.

Kiwior climbs high to head in (Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)

Guilty of being hesitant in possession at times, those unforced errors have not appeared in recent weeks.

Having this back four play together again is good preparation for PSG — and the bonus of having another goal threat at set-pieces will surely be something Arsenal have grand plans in store for next week.

Saliba has to stay switched on

Arsenal’s Invincibles team of 2003-04 drew 12 games en route to the title but in the context of Arne Slot’s Liverpool, 13 draws was never going to be a lucky number for Arsenal this year.

This 2-2 draw against Palace was another game in which Arsenal will have felt they should have won but failed to build on an early goal. Even when they retook the lead after Eze had drawn Palace level from a corner, it never felt like a matter of time before they killed the game.

Palace were able to find too many openings in the second half and another lackadaisical moment from Saliba gifted Mateta a late equaliser.

It was a terrific finish but Saliba dallied on the ball and then played a slack pass into the middle of the pitch, which was punished. A similar incident happened against Real Madrid at the Bernabeu, moments after taking the lead, when he made another unforced error.

For such a classy player, among the best central defenders in the world, he has to cut these out. Especially since Arsenal are relying on him to lead the defence in the absence of Gabriel. David Raya, too, was not the usual calming presence and flapped at a few crossed balls.

These final games were always going to have a strange energy with the title gone but it was a draw that summed up why Arsenal aren’t champions this season. Only Everton, with 14, have drawn more.

Trossard’s goalscoring boost

In what was the last game before the Champions League semi-final next week, it was thought that Arteta may treat this as a dress rehearsal when it came to team selection.

But there was no Ben White, no Jorginho and no Mikel Merino in the squad, while the one player who will definitely miss the first leg through suspension, Thomas Partey, started at the base of midfield.

Against Ipswich Town, Arteta used Declan Rice as the No 6 and Merino as the left eight with Trossard up front. It looked like he was planning for PSG but Merino’s fitness issue denied him the chance to do that again and Jorginho’s absence also denied the chance to bring him in at the heart of midfield.

It did allow Trossard to start up front for the second game in four days and, for the second time, he gave Arsenal the lead.

As against Ipswich, it was another left-footed finish amid a crowded penalty box that did it.

Trossard, who started as the No 9, celebrates his goal (David Price/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)

A class touch from Trossard and it’s in the back of the net! 😰 pic.twitter.com/0i05Vf7iEB

— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) April 23, 2025

And for U.S. readers

Leandro Trossard delivers for Arsenal moments before halftime. 🎯

📺 USA Network pic.twitter.com/4yYIzbo1uJ

— NBC Sports Soccer (@NBCSportsSoccer) April 23, 2025

Trossard could have scored another couple as he found himself in dangerous positions but boosting his confidence in front of goal has to be seen as a positive of the night.

What did Arteta say?

“We dropped our standards — and credit to Crystal Palace,” Arteta told BBC Sport. We struggled to find consistency in the game. We gave the ball away in simple ways and we were late in everything we did. I am disappointed.

On whether the schedule affected his team: “We have so many players out and not available and therefore you drop certain standards. But we have to do much better than we did today.“

On the Champions League semi-final with PSG: ”We have spoken about avoiding our focus being elsewhere. We have enough time to prepare for PSG but today we didn’t deliver enough right to win the game. It is nice to have long gap, we need it and we need players back to full strength.”

And to Sky Sports he added: “We are disappointed with the result and performance. We didn’t find enough consistency in actions to dominate the game. It’s part of football and cost us two points. It can be difficult. In many aspects of the game, we should have done better today.

“We require the consistency. Today, they were very organised and deserved credit. We have to do much better.”

On mistakes costing Arsenal: “For sure. Cost you points. It’s part of football. We have the most important game of the season in six days. We need to get our energy back.”

What next for Arsenal?

Tuesday, April 29: Paris Saint-Germain (Home), Champions League semi-final first leg, 8pm UK, 3pm ET

(Top photo: Kiwior celebrates the opener with Martinelli. David Price/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)

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