WALCOTT: PALACE WANTED IT MORE
THEO Walcott last night issued a grovelling apology to Arsenal fans following the crushing loss to Crystal Palace. Jamie Carragher described the 3-0 defeat as an ‘embarrassment’ and also called the players ‘cowards’ in his role as a Sky Sports pundit. Likewise, former Arsenal striker Ian Wright described the Gunners dressing room as being ‘lost’ on Twitter after the defeat. And Walcott, who captained the team last night, said: ‘We thought we had bounced back from that bad patch with the draw against Manchester City and win against West Ham. ‘It doesn’t look like it after this. We are all disappointed in the changing room, like the fans are — we let them down. We don’t go out there to lose games, we work the best we can. It didn’t happen. We can only apologise. Palace wanted it more. You could sense that from the kick-off.’ The defeat leaves Arsenal seven points adrift of a Champions League qualification spot with only eight games to play. Wenger now admits it will be ‘very difficult’ for his team to secure a top-four place. But despite the harrowing nature of last night’s loss, Wenger refused to question his team’s commitment, saying: ‘No I wouldn’t say they downed tools. It’s really strange, we were unbeaten for a long time away from home and now we cannot win away from home. ‘It’s part of our job to rebuild the confidence. We have a week to do it and we need to prepare and go to Middlesbrough for another difficult game. ‘It’s our job. We’ll try to do it.’ Wenger faced calls to be axed by his own supporters yesterday — which could prove a significant moment in the Frenchman’s future. But the Gunners boss refused to give anything away regarding his future, saying: ‘Look, honestly, I’m disappointed so much. ‘It’s been such a long time since we lost the game in the way we did here, that’s very disappointing. ‘At the moment — especially after this — it would be inconvenient for me to speak about me. It was more painful for us to lose this game in the way we lost it.’ Meanwhile, Palace boss Sam Allardyce revealed the Gunners were there for the taking, adding: ‘Arsenal are in a bad run of results, for them. There can be a lack of confidence in any side at any time of the season, even the top boys. ‘When you punish them by scoring the first goal, that preys on their mind a bit, thinking: “Oh no, here we go again”.’