Arsenal vs Crystal Palace Timeline & H2H Stats

There are some that would argue that Arsenal’s encounters with Crystal Palace don’t really count as a derby, given how far outside of London it feels as if the Eagles actually are. That being said, when you remember that one of Palace’s fiercest rivalries is with Brighton & Hove Albion, it is far to ponder whether there is really any distance that stops a team from being rivals to another. One of the biggest reasons why you might struggle to call this a rivalry with any real venom to it is the fact that the teams haven’t always been in the same league as one another, with the first match not occurring until the January of 1934.

Even that was in the FA Cup rather than the league; the first encounter between the two in the same division as each other didn’t occur for another 35 years. Arsenal’s dominance over the Eagles was established at an early stage, with that FA Cup match ended in a 7-0 win and the second game, coming in 1969, being a 5-1 win away from home. It isn’t to say that Palace have never been able to land a bloody nose on their London rivals, but rather that a list of results from over the years doesn’t show all that many successes for the side that was once managed by Roy Hodgson and has won little silverware.

Arsenal’s Success has Been Palpable

Ultimately, rivalries between two sides tend to come about because of one of two reasons: the clubs are based close to one another or they have fought over the biggest trophies. Neither of those factors can really be said to apply here, albeit with the caveat that both teams are technically in London. A map of their locations would quickly help punters to realise that they aren’t close enough to make a conversation about their physical proximity be in any way relevant. Equally, a glimpse at how the two teams have done on the trophy front woulds show that Palace have never really troubled Arsenal on that front.

The two teams played out a 1-1 draw on the 14th of November 1970, after which Arsenal won 13 of the next 19 encounters. During that time, Palace won just one game, escaping with a draw on five occasions. That took them up to 1993, showing that the Eagles really weren’t bothering the top-flight all that much. From Arsenal’s point of view, the win over Palace in the 1992-1993 League Cup stands out, largely because they won the trophy at the end of the season. The Gunners won 3-1 at Selhurst Park before seeing out a 2-0 win at Highbury, which set them up for a final against Sheffield Wednesday. They won that 2-1 to lift the trophy for just the second time.

Arsenal’s Full Match History Against Crystal Palace