The China Mail - Arsenal lacked 'energy' in Palace draw as Liverpool prepare to seal title

Arteta's side were hoping to warm up for their first Champions League semi-final appearance since 2009 with a victory over Palace at the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday.

But Jakub Kiwior's third-minute header for the Gunners was cancelled out by Eberechi Eze's volley in the 27th minute.

Leandro Trossard's strike put Arsenal back in front three minutes before half-time, only for Palace substitute Jean-Philippe Mateta to loft a brilliant lob over out of position keeper David Raya in the 83rd minute.

Second-placed Arsenal are 12 points adrift of Liverpool, and with only four matches left for the north Londoners, Arne Slot's team will seal the title if they avoid defeat against Tottenham at Anfield on Sunday.

Their title hopes effectively over several weeks ago, Arsenal were already focused on winning the Champions League for the first time.

But the sloppy display against Palace was hardly ideal preparation for the showdown with French champions PSG, who have eliminated Liverpool and Aston Villa en route to the last four.

"We are disappointed with the result and performance. We didn't find enough consistency in actions to dominate the game," Arteta said.

"In many aspects we should have done better. Palace were very organised and deserved credit but we dropped our standards.

"We struggled to find consistency. We gave the ball away in simple ways and we were late in everything we did. We have to do much better."

It was Arsenal's ninth league draw in a match they were leading this season, the most by a team in a single campaign since Tottenham in 2007-08.

- 'Most important game of the season' -

Arsenal's repeated failure to kill off opponents has resulted in 13 draws from 34 leagues games, helping put Liverpool within touching distance of a record-equalling 20th English title.

Likely to finish as Premier League runners-up for a third successive season, Arteta's team hope to end their five-year trophy drought in memorable style in the Champions League.

Arteta insisted they were not distracted by the chance to reach the final for the first time since 2006.

But he conceded it would be useful for his injury-hit squad to have almost a week off before facing Luis Enrique's men.

"We have spoke about avoiding our focus being elsewhere. We have enough time to prepare for PSG but today we didn't deliver enough to win the game," he said.

"It is nice to have long gap, we need it and we need players back to full strength. We have so many players out and not available and therefore you drop certain standards.

"We have the most important game of the season in six days. We need to get our energy back."

With an FA Cup semi-final against Aston Villa on Saturday, Palace could have been forgiven for taking it easy in north London.

Manager Oliver Glasner started with key forwards Mateta and Ismaila Sarr on the bench to keep them fresh for Wembley, but Palace gave a spirited display.

"It was not our goal to decide the title, it was our goal to win the game. A draw is a very good result. More important is the performance. We are back on the track," Glasner said.

"We wanted to show our identity and personality. It's important to keep this energy and confidence for the semi-final."

V.Fan--ThChM