Arsenal had a great February and March: Mikel Arteta's team lost only one match out of seven - to Liverpool (but that was just at a different level - and the Londoners were still doing well). And Mikel deservedly won the award for the best coach of March in the APL.

But the first game in April gave Arsenal a very unpleasant surprise - 0-3 away defeat by Crystal Palace.

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- Arsenal lost the London derby by 3+ goals for just the fifth time in the APL, with the previous such defeat also happening to Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park - in April 2017 (0-3).

"We played poorly, especially in the first half. I apologize to our fans," Arteta said after the match. - Today we didn't have the fortitude or composure to dominate the situation, and we didn't like that the most. Sometimes there are days like that: you can't do anything, you're always late. The opponent was on top, with a good vibe, and we couldn't beat that. When we had good chances, we didn't score to give ourselves a chance to get back into the game. We need to accept the criticism, look at ourselves and wait for the next game. It wasn't enough."

- Due to injury, Thomas Partee finished the match early. Another problem for Arsenal is a knee injury to Kieran Tierney. The Scot could miss the rest of the season.

- And the Palace is really good. Despite going five games without a win at home (since the end of December, when they crushed Norwich), Patrick Vieira's lads are in good form: only one defeat in their last 11 games, and they have not let up in their last four either. The series was longer only 11 years ago, six games.

The team will soon face an FA Cup semifinal against Chelsea at Wembley.

- Jean-Philippe Mateta scored the opener. The Frenchman got his 3rd goal in 4 games. And this is a local story of rebirth: he did not play much in the autumn and was not considered as a close to the core forward. But he became that way in winter - when no one expected him to be.

- Special mention should go to Wilfried Zaha: he scored his 18th penalty in the league (only Raheem Sterling and Jamie Vardy have more in APL history - 23 and 21 respectively). And he also scored 10+ goals for the third consecutive season, the first at the Palace to do so.

- Arsenal's loss exacerbates the fight for the top four. Just on Monday, the Canaries learned the date of a match in which a lot can be decided: May 12 - the postponed derby with Tottenham from January.