Arsenal returned to Premier League action with another very poor showing, this time against Patrick Vieira’s Crystal Palace.

LONDON, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 18: Alexandre Lacazette of Arsenal celebrates after scoring their team's second goal during the Premier League match between Arsenal and Crystal Palace at Emirates Stadium on October 18, 2021 in London, England. (Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND – OCTOBER 18: Alexandre Lacazette of Arsenal celebrates after scoring their team’s second goal during the Premier League match between Arsenal and Crystal Palace at Emirates Stadium on October 18, 2021 in London, England. (Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images)

At this point, it is hard to escape the fact it looks like Arsenal are nothing more than a bottom-half team who occasionally lift their game for big matches, such as against Tottenham.

There is no denying there is an excellent squad of players there and, perhaps, a manager with some actual experience would be able to get first-half-against-Spurs performance out of them for more than just 45 minutes out of a possible 720.

A win would have taken Arsenal into the top half of the table but, as it stands, they are currently 12th and have thrown away the advantage gained from the win over Spurs.

Arsenal are now four points behind Tottenham after drawing level with them by beating them.

While a number of players had a poor game against Palace, the blame for this one has to lie squarely at the manager’s feet.

But let’s have a look at the player’s ratings anyway:

Arsenal player ratings vs Crystal Palace

  • Aaron Ramsdale 6.9
  • Takehiro Tomiyasu 6.3
  • Ben White 6.6
  • Gabriel 6.8
  • Kieran Tierney 6.7
  • Thomas Partey 6.1
  • Martin Odegaard 6.2
  • Nicolas Pepe 6.4
  • Emile Smith Rowe 6.9
  • Bukayo Saka 6.5
  • Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang 7.7

(stats via Fotmob)