Arsenal missed the chance of moving into the top half of the Premier League when Mikel Arteta’s side was held to a goalless draw by Crystal Palace at the Emirates Stadium.
Having won their last four in all competitions, Arsenal had the opportunity of climbing as high as eighth.
But without the energy of full-back Kieran Tierney, the host was slow and predictable in its approach play, never really troubling Palace, who extended their unbeaten run to three.
Palace created the better chances in the first half, with James Tomkins going closest to breaking the deadlock when his header crashed off the crossbar from Eberechi Eze’s delivery.
Arsenal then had Bernd Leno to thank for keeping the scores level as he made a strong one-handed save to keep out Christian Benteke’s glancing header.
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Arsenal had conjured up half-chances in the first period without really testing Vincente Guaita in the Palace goal and despite dominating the ball it was a similar story after the restart.
Alexandre Lacazette went closest but hit the side-netting before the offside flag went up, and even the introduction of 70th-minute substitute Thomas Partey – returning after a thigh problem – failed to spark an improvement.
The draw leaves Arsenal 11th in the table, a point ahead of Crystal Palace in 13th.
