Crystal Palace 3 – 0 Arsenal: betting reaction
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Eagles continue to soar
Football fans watched a crossroads match on Monday evening at Selhurst Park as Crystal Palace, battling against the threat of relegation, but showing impressive recent form, met an Arsenal team chasing a top-four spot, but on a miserable run of results.
There was suggestion – more a whisper – before the off that Palace could get something out of the game. Arsenal were there for the taking. That was certainly the case, with the locals securing an emphatic 3-0 win over their capital city rivals, with goals from Townsend, Cabaye and Milivojevic heaping the pressure on Arsene Wenger and his battered band.
Fans had enough
The banners in the crowd read – enough is enough, Wenger out! They were made by disgruntled fans before the defeat, and the opposition against the French leader was swelling by the full-time whistle. Sam Allardyce told the press in his post-match conference that his players knew how to beat Arsenal, tactically, and he didn’t mind laying out the blueprint for everyone to see…..
- Defend and frustrate
- Make them pass the ball sideways
- Expose the gaps left in behind, and punish a weak defence
That was a massive win for Palace, and will go some way to keeping them in the division come the final count. There will be critics who won’t like to admit it, but Allardyce is doing a fantastic job. Let’s look at how that result has shaped the betting at both ends of the table.
Palace safe for another season
If Coral traders are to be believed, then Crystal Palace will be playing Premier League football next season. Monday’s victory was their fifth win in six starts, the spare being defeat to Southampton on their penultimate start. They have now beaten the likes of Arsenal, Chelsea and West Brom. They do have a couple of tough matches ahead however, including Liverpool and Tottenham this month. Punters who fancy Crystal Palace to be relegated will now find as much as 16/1 on them taking the plunge.
No Champions League football for Arsenal
With Arsenal’s eighth defeat of the season, and fifth in eight games, they now look set to miss out on the riches of Champions League football next season. The bare minimum expected from a support who have been more than reasonable in recent years. The Gunners are now seven points behind Man City in fourth, and have three to find to catch Man United in fifth. To make matters worse, they are much closer to Everton in seventh, with The Toffees behind on goal-difference only. That has been reflected in Coral’s updated Premier League top-four market, with our football guys happy to trade 11/2 on Arsenal grabbing one of the money spots.
Sanchez in the hunt for gold
Wenger, who is surely half-way out of the Emirates exit door, would love to bring the curtain down with his beloved Arsenal in Europe’s premier competition, and hand the side over on a solid footing, but it looks a bridge too far. The only hope anyone at the club has of winning anything this year is Alexis Sanchez in the top goal scorer market. He’s currently third in the list on 18 goals, behind Lukaku on 23 and the injured Harry Kane on 19. Sanchez to win the golden boot is a 9/1 shot with us.
