Arsenal ended a three-match losing run in all competitions in style as they crushed Crystal Palace 5-0 at Emirates Stadium to go third in the table.
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Centre-back Gabriel was the star of the show for Arsenal as he scored twice, both from set-pieces, to put the Gunners in control before Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Martinelli (twice) scored from counter-attacks in the second half to add to the pressure on Palace manager Roy Hodgson.
How the match unfolded
Mikel Arteta made three changes from the side who lost to Fulham on New Year’s Eve. Gabriel Jesus, Trossard and Oleksandr Zinchenko came back into the starting XI, while Hodgson made two changes for Palace, Will Hughes and Jeffrey Schlupp coming in for Jordan Ayew and Michael Olise.
Arsenal’s bright start was rewarded with a goal in the 11 minute, Gabriel rising highest to head home Declan Rice’s corner at the back post. It was Arsenal’s ninth Premier League goal from a corner this season, and 10th headed goal, both more than any other Premier League team.
It was nearly 2-0 minutes later as another Arsenal set-piece ball rebounded off Palace midfielder Jefferson Lerma and hit the bar.
Palace threatened in spurts. Lerma pounced on a poor clearance from David Raya and tested the Arsenal goalkeeper with a powerful long-range shot that the Spaniard tipped behind.
Arsenal doubled their lead in the 37th minute, with again Gabriel adding his second of the match. The defender got ahead of his marker Chris Richards once more to head Bukayo Saka’s far-post corner in off Palace goalkeeper Dean Henderson.
Arsenal got their third of the game just before the hour. Shortly after missing a chance to score, Trossard this time converted from a counter-attack that only took 10 seconds.
Raya gathered a Palace cross and threw the ball out to Jesus down the right. The Arsenal striker ran with the ball before squaring to Trossard, who dropped Richards before finishing past Henderson to celebrate the first anniversary of him joining the club. It was also the Belgian’s first of eight goals scored for the club that had not not assisted by Saka.
Celebrating a year at Arsenal with a fine finish 🤩 pic.twitter.com/NGGapYleCM
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) January 20, 2024
The game eased off as both sides made substitutions, with Rice one of the changes, limping off, with what Arteta said was muscle tightness.
Substitute Martinelli scored two near-identical goals inside two stoppage-time minutes, both from counter-attacks, to round off a huge victory for the home side.
The win takes Arsenal into third, level on 43 points with Manchester City, two behind leaders Liverpool.
| Position Pos | Club | Played Pl | GD | Points Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Man City
MCI
|
38 | +62 | 91 |
| 2 |
Arsenal
ARS
|
38 | +62 | 89 |
| 3 |
Liverpool
LIV
|
38 | +45 | 82 |
| 4 |
Aston Villa
AVL
|
38 | +15 | 68 |
The defeat means that Palace are on a run of five points from their last 10 matches, which leaves them 15th with 21 points, only five above the relegation zone.
| Position Pos | Club | Played Pl | GD | Points Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 |
Wolves
WOL
|
38 | -15 | 46 |
| 15 |
Everton
EVE
|
38 | -11 | 40 |
| 16 |
Brentford
BRE
|
38 | -9 | 39 |
| 17 |
Nott'm Forest
NFO
|
38 | -18 | 32 |
| 18 |
Luton
LUT
|
38 | -33 | 26 |
Arsenal report | Palace report
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Key facts
Since the start of 2020/21, Gabriel has scored 12 Premier League goals for Arsenal, at least three more than any other defender.
Arsenal have won each of their last four Premier League matches against Palace, having won only one of their previous eight against them in the competition before (D5 L2).
Hodgson has failed to win any of his six Premier League encounters with Mikel Arteta (D2 L4) – the only opposing manager he’s faced more often in the competition without ever beating is Jurgen Klopp (P9 L9).
Martinelli's first goal was the 200th scored by a substitute for Arsenal in the Premier League (now 201), with the Gunners becoming just the third side to hit this milestone after Man Utd (215) and Chelsea (206).