Palace 3 - 0 Arsenal

At the half, it looks like another nightmare.  The Gunners have most of the ball, and actually create some good chances, but it's Palace with the goal when a goal kick is knocked around from one Palace player to another until a simple cutback to a wide-open Andros Townsend is banged in.  Honestly, it seems like another case of lack of focus.  The studio crew's Rebecca Lowe just remarked that Arsenal has not come back from being behind at halftime to win an away game in five years.  Oh boy.  Well, we're due, right?

...

Wrong.  A too-easy goal from Cabaye, then a ridiculous penalty in the modern style as the Palace player knocked the ball past everyone and then made sure to kick Martinez's outstretched hands and flop.  3-0.  I turned off the TV, then turned it back on.  I deserve to see this, for actually believing we were going to win.  What a chump.  Flamini comes on in the last ten minutes for Palace, the final indignity.  The rest of the game was garbage time, but Palace never switched off.  Credit to them.

Where to start...Ozil was awful today.  giving the ball away, refusing to shoot, lazy defense.  Walcott was virtually anonymous--why does he start?  But the real questions have to be asked of Wenger.  Everyone in the world knew what Palace was going to do today.  Our players should have been prepared and set up for it.  They weren't.  Palace could have had more, too; we were that bad.  Their defense was organized, switched on, and energetic.  Ours was pretty limp.

That's that for Champions' League.  Frankly, we were piss-poor representatives for the EPL anyway.  Let Liverpool and the Manchester clubs fight it out for the honor of being smashed by Bayern or Real in the knockout stages.  St Totteringham retired weeks ago.  If AFC was waiting for a good time to announce that Wenger is coming back, they can keep waiting.  After this, the supporters will be in open revolt.  How Wenger could think he was the guy to run this club now is beyond me.  He's gone from footballing genius to deluded old man.  The personnel should be good enough for a top four finish, or at least a decent run at it, but they are collapsing and if they finish in the top seven it will surprise me.  Winning the FA Cup seems unlikely now; we're playing so much worse than everyone else.

I have the sound off for the NBC Sports studio yakkers.  Enough.  I'm sorry I watched this, really I am.