Arsenal were in a jam long before they misjudged the South London traffic and turned up late at Selhurst Park.
Such has been the erratic nature of their form in the last three months that every slip however slight threatens to dip them back into the land of crisis.
But this crumbling apology of a display was perhaps the clearest example yet of how far they have slumped and how seriously their confidence levels have been depleted.
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chelsea | 31 | 24 | 3 | 4 | 40 | 75 |
| 2 | Tottenham Hotspur | 31 | 20 | 8 | 3 | 42 | 68 |
| 3 | Liverpool | 32 | 18 | 9 | 5 | 28 | 63 |
| 4 | Manchester City | 31 | 18 | 7 | 6 | 25 | 61 |
| 5 | Manchester United | 30 | 15 | 12 | 3 | 22 | 57 |
| 6 | Arsenal | 30 | 16 | 6 | 8 | 22 | 54 |
| 7 | Everton | 32 | 15 | 9 | 8 | 21 | 54 |
| 8 | West Bromwich Albion | 32 | 12 | 8 | 12 | -2 | 44 |
| 9 | Southampton | 30 | 11 | 7 | 12 | 0 | 40 |
| 10 | Watford | 31 | 10 | 7 | 14 | -16 | 37 |
| 11 | Leicester City | 31 | 10 | 6 | 15 | -12 | 36 |
| 12 | Burnley | 32 | 10 | 6 | 16 | -12 | 36 |
| 13 | Stoke City | 32 | 9 | 9 | 14 | -13 | 36 |
| 14 | West Ham United | 32 | 10 | 6 | 16 | -15 | 36 |
| 15 | Bournemouth | 32 | 9 | 8 | 15 | -14 | 35 |
| 16 | Crystal Palace | 31 | 10 | 4 | 17 | -8 | 34 |
| 17 | Hull City | 32 | 8 | 6 | 18 | -31 | 30 |
| 18 | Swansea City | 32 | 8 | 4 | 20 | -30 | 28 |
| 19 | Middlesbrough | 31 | 4 | 12 | 15 | -15 | 24 |
| 20 | Sunderland | 31 | 5 | 5 | 21 | -32 | 20 |
This was a thumping, with Crystal Palace the best team at the beginning, in the middle and at the end.