Alex Keble analyses how Arsenal returned to winning ways with a crushing victory against Crystal Palace.
A thumping 5-0 win was exactly what Arsenal needed on their return from the winter break.
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Three consecutive defeats in all competitions, and one win from five in the Premier League, had wounded Arsenal’s title hopes but the mid-January fire break offered the chance for a reset.
To Mikel Arteta’s relief, they have taken it.
The reboot required wasn’t just about results. It was vital that Arsenal rediscovered their free-flowing football after a stilted few weeks, and thanks to a couple of set-piece goals in the first half they were able to glide through the second 45 minutes like their old selves.
As for Palace, the clouds are darkening. They have won only one of their last 12 matches in all competitions and, suffering their biggest loss since Roy Hodgson’s return, Palace’s lacklustre collapse in the final few minutes came against the backdrop of a prominent banner criticising the way the club are run.
Here’s how Arsenal got their groove back, why their fast breaks returned, and how Palace’s tactical setup backfired.
Palace’s man-to-man 5-4-1 gifts Arsenal space
Arsenal might have been slowed to a tempo – and scoreline – similar to their recent stutters had it not been for two set-piece goals that calmed the nerves inside Emirates Stadium.
In that respect, it was nothing new for the Gunners, who were already joint leaders in the Premier League for set-piece goals with 11 before today’s match.
“Set-pieces are a big part of us, especially against teams that want to defend deeply,” Arteta said after the match.
Arteta praises his staff for set-piece success
But the attacking moves that ended in the goalscoring corners were the result of specific tactical flaws in Palace's set-up.
Hodgson picked a 5-4-1 formation in which wingers Jeffrey Schlupp and Eberechi Eze were instructed to drift infield, making a 3-4-2-1 when Palace had possession, repeating the system that earned Palace a 2-2 draw at Manchester City in December.
There was nothing wrong with the formation itself, but Hodgson’s decision to deploy aggressive man-to-man pressing in open play backfired - twice.
From the outset, Palace’s outside centre-backs Chris Richards and Marc Guehi leapt out of the back three to man-mark the Arsenal No 8s Kai Havertz and Martin Odegaard.
Here, only four minutes in, we can see how risky the movement was, fragmenting Palace and therefore unshackling an Arsenal side who had previously been playing in chains.
It proved a big mistake, creating far too much space in the back line to cope with Arsenal’s passing through midfield.
The image below shows Richards vacating the space to track Havertz, in turn allowing Oleksandr Zinchenko to play the ball in behind. Arsenal won a corner, from which Gabriel gave them the lead.
For the all-important second goal, again the issue was man-marking in open play.
This time, Richards, still tracking Havertz, found himself pinned on the edge of the penalty area, opening space for the switch to Leandro Trossard, whose cross led to the corner from which Arsenal went 2-0 up.
Had Palace not been man-to-man, but instead stuck to regimented lines in a hunched 5-4-1 formation, they would likely have forced Arsenal into the slow and predictable passing rhythms we have seen so often this winter.
Instead, by following Arsenal midfielders around the pitch Palace effectively created zig-zag lines and a chaotic match that allowed Arsenal to relax, open up and find novel ways to get out of their rut.
Focus will be on how Richards lost Gabriel at those two corners, but the way the American stuck to Havertz in the build-up was just as important.
Arsenal’s fast-break goals are encouraging
In the second half, Arsenal took advantage of counter-attacking opportunities, scoring three times from fast breaks, quadrupling their previous total of one for the 2023/24 season.
In fact, Arsenal had seven fast breaks across the 90 minutes. This is over three times more than in any other Premier League match this season, when they produced two against Manchester United and Everton. It is also 47 per cent of their entire 2023/24 total of 15.
That is a monumental gear shift.
The first fast-break goal was the most impressive, with David Raya’s quick throw releasing Gabriel Jesus into the opposition half from a Palace corner. As the goal went in, Arteta was the first person to point to Raya in praise.
It was a moment that showed Arsenal have not slowed down on purpose, rather that, by struggling to break down a low block, they haven’t been given the kind of chances that presented themselves today.
But by scoring in the 11th minute, Palace were forced to come out, in turn giving Arsenal space to run in straight lines and attack more directly.
“Opening the game up the way we did [with the early goal] is really helpful because the opponent has to adapt and they have to be a bit more aggressive and allow more spaces,” Arteta said after the match.
The lesson for Arsenal is to race out of the blocks in the hope that, by scoring early, they aren’t faced with a deadening defensive shell that seizes up their attacking speed.
That’s easier said than done, of course, but a 5-0 win in front of the Arsenal fans might just provide the confidence boost these players need in order to start quickly.
Arteta certainly appreciates its importance. Asked to name his favourite aspect of the win, he answered immediately: “The positivity that we had right from the beginning.”