Crystal Palace 1-2 Arsenal: A much-changed Gunners side end their title-winning campaign with a win, with both teams now turning their attention to the upcoming European finals
Arsenal lift Premier League title at Selhurst Park
After a grueling 22 years of waiting for Premier League glory, the sweltering weather didn’t stop Arsenal’s title party.
As chants of “We can’t stand it” rang out from a red sea of jubilant celebrations in the shade of Selhurst Park, the often-rotated Gunners did what they had done for most of the season and finally secured the trophy they had been chasing for years.
There’s no getting away from the fact that this was a match that could have been played without both teams, especially as the scorching temperatures weren’t ideal preparation for a major European final.
Arsenal looked to have blown a 2-0 lead late in the day when Elemy Pino looked to have snatched a point from Crystal Palace in the closing stages, but the Spanish substitute’s shot was deflected by Evan Guesand, who was in an offside position. Even if the goal was saved, I can’t say it meant much.
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Six days after the Gunners’ Champions League heavyweight showdown with PSG in Budapest, Arteta has understandably made nine changes to his squad, but underlines Arsenal’s underlying strength, who were still able to get the job done thanks to goals from Gabriel Jesus and Noni Madueke.
There was still time for Max Daumann to make history again. He completed his capstone moment on Tuesday night with club action with Arsenal in Mayfair, and missed Thursday’s final Champions League media day due to GCSE exams, before becoming the youngest player to start a Premier League game at just 16 years and 144 days old.
Meanwhile, Oliver Glasner has also been shuffled through the squad, but is still suffering a worrying injury just over 72 hours after Leipzig’s final Conference League game against Rayo Vallecano. Adam Wharton started on the bench but was substituted at half-time with an ankle injury sustained against Miles Lewis-Skelly, and like his compatriot, he was also left out of Thomas Tuchel’s England World Cup squad this week.
Adam Wharton left with injury (Image: Michael Regan/Getty Images)
Wharton tried to struggle but was unable to continue, and the look on Glassner’s face said it all. He left the field without anyone’s help and returned to the locker room for treatment. Despite the absence of Martin Odegaard and Ebelesi Eze from Arsenal’s starting line-up, they certainly had no trouble creating chances.
First, Jesus curled a shot that hit the post within four minutes, before Noni Madueke fired the rebound straight into Dean Henderson. Jesus then went head-to-head with his compatriot Gabriel Martinelli when he tried to put Henderson down, leaving him unsteady.
Now it was Martinelli’s turn to squander a brilliant chance before turning into the provider for Jesus’ opening goal. The Brazilian, who scored twice at Selhurst Park last season, currently has more goal involvements on the Premier League’s final day (six goals, two assists) than any other player across the division.
Arsenal kept the party going at Selhurst Park (Image: AFP/Getty Images)
Palace pulled one back through Jean-Philippe Mateta’s header, but Arsenal were denied a chance to equal the club’s record of 30 clean sheets set by Bertie Mee’s legendary double-winning team in 1971 in all competitions until Guesand’s second-half effort was canceled out.
There was some concern about Pierrot Hincapie, who was seen clutching his ankle at the final whistle, before Arsenal’s ecstatic players headed back inside to change on the home strip.
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