Sam Allardyce: 'Crystal Palace players knew how to beat Arsenal'

Crystal Palace manager Sam Allardyce has claimed that his players knew exactly what they needed to do in order to beat Arsenal.

The Eagles claimed an emphatic 3-0 win over the beleaguered Gunners in Monday night's Premier League clash at Selhurst Park, thanks to goals from Andros Townsend, Yohan Cabaye and Luka Milivojevic.

Allardyce told Sky Sports News: "Tactically the players were aware of how to beat Arsenal. The first thing was to defend and frustrate them, keep them playing sideways, then use the space behind the full-backs. Arsenal have been weak defensively, they leave the centre-backs exposed.

"We won a lot of possession off them and created lots of chances. Cabaye's goal, what a finish - and that was down to us pressing them. It wasn't a shock for me because we played Chelsea and won that game. The result might be a shock, but we did that again and did it better.

"We all know Arsenal are going through their worst spell for years, but the only way to take advantage is by playing well. Everything worked perfectly for us today."

The result keeps Palace 16th in the Premier League table, but they now sit six points clear of the bottom three and are just three points from the top 10.