‘Outplayed’ – Crystal Palace boss Roy Hodgson assesses heavy 5-0 defeat at Arsenal

Crystal Palace boss Roy Hodgson says his side were “outplayed” by Arsenal towards the end of the game as they suffered a 5-0 defeat at The Emirates on Saturday afternoon.

Arsenal took the lead after 10 minutes when Gabriel escaped Chris Richards and met Declan Rice’s corner to head beyond Dean Henderson.

The Gunners doubled their lead before half time when another corner, this time from Bukayo Saka, found Gabriel at the back post, and he beat Chris Richards again to head into the net.

A second-half brace from Gabriel Martinelli and a strike from Leandro Trossard saw the north Londoners record their 5-0 win.

The Eagles have only won two of their last 16 games in all competitions under Hodgson.

“They were good set-pieces,” Hodgson said of Arsenal’s quick two-goal advantage.

“But if you speak to our players, they’re a little bit aggrieved – they thought there were infringements for both the goals.

“We weren’t lucky enough to have those infringements recognised by the referee so we found ourselves 2-0 down.

“Then, to compound things, we gave them the goal that really puts the game to bed with one of our set-pieces. 

“Our corner quick wasn’t long enough. The ball back went straight into the goalkeeper’s arms. A counter-attack, and suddenly, we’re 3-0 down.

“That effectively ended any hope we might have had of getting back into the game.

“The real disappointment is the last two goals, but I must take responsibility for that. Players were tiring and we needed, we thought, some fresh legs.

“The fresh legs were the young lads and it was too much to ask for them to go on and deal with a rampant Arsenal. As a result, we lose the game heavily.

“At the moment, we’re stretched, to say the least.

“Furthermore, our attacking threat, when you lose Michael Olise and Jordan Ayew at the same time, is obviously blunted.

“That will change when those two players come back. 

“Today we were outplayed, in particular, towards the end of the game. Up to that period, the players stuck to their task. They showed that they’re still committed and want to deal well for the club.

“The result decides everything. Three-nil wouldn’t have been quite so bad, but those last two goals brought about the doom and gloom situation because 5-0 is a bad defeat at any level.”

PICTURES: KEITH GILLARD