Arsenal extended their lead at the top of the Premier League with a 1-0 win over Crystal Palace at the Emirates, with Ebelesi Eze scoring the winning goal against his former club.
Arsenal’s win means both Manchester City and Liverpool made the most of a perfect weekend to qualify for the Premier League, despite dropping points.
Arsenal have won seven games in a row in all competitions, putting them four points clear at the top of the table, seven points behind champions Liverpool, who suffered their fourth straight league defeat at Brentford on Saturday, and six points behind fellow contenders Man City, who lost to Aston Villa on Sunday.
Mikel Arteta could rely on the strength of Arsenal’s set pieces. Declan Rice’s dink into the area hit Palace’s Ismaila Sarr and fell to Eze to score the Gunners’ first Premier League goal since their £67.5m move from Selhurst Park in the summer.
Arsenal finished October top of the league and their next game will be played on November 1st. Arteta’s side will now turn their attention to the Carabao Cup, when they host Brighton on Wednesday, live on Sky Sports.
How Arsenal made the most of a perfect Premier League weekend
Arsenal’s Premier League rivals all dropped points, giving the Gunners another chance to strengthen their title claims. Arteta’s side made an energetic start and there was a whiff of potential at the Emirates.
In the first period, it was difficult to find a way out. Victor Gokeres, the star striker who fans were hoping would turn things around with his two goals against Atlético in the Champions League, struggled as he lacked chances. His eight touches in the first half summed up his unremarkable performance before the break.
Eze’s winner was Arsenal’s 11th goal from a set-piece in the Premier League this season.
However, his teammates didn’t get a chance either. Arsenal failed to register a single shot in the first 30 minutes of the game. Indeed, Arsenal’s first attempt, Leandro Trossard’s shot from an angle in the 33rd minute, was the longest wait for an attempt in a Premier League match since April 2021.
However, Eze’s second and decisive goal was the result of a set piece. It was his 11th goal of this kind, two more than any other goal in the Premier League.
The first half wasn’t really entertaining. Palace themselves are losing confidence as they have not won four games since their winning streak was halted at 19 by Everton. Their xG in the first half was just 0.20, the worst first half of a Premier League game so far this season, but Arteta will hardly care about that given the result.
After the break, the restraints were lifted and Arsenal were once again close to two points behind when Gabriel hit the bar with a header from a set-piece.
Gokeres’ influence grew in the match and the Emirates side bounced back after chasing a direct pass down the channel, but the wait to celebrate a Premier League goal continues for the £55m man, who has not scored in a league match since September. But another win for Arsenal means that is probably a cause for concern going forward.
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Eberechi Eze’s goal takes Arsenal ahead against Crystal Palace!
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During Arsenal’s Premier League match against Crystal Palace, Gabriel hit the crossbar.
Arteta: “I value this victory more than any other this season”
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Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta talks about the 1-0 win over Crystal Palace.
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta:
“I just told the players that we cherish this win more than any other win this season. We knew how difficult it would be, so we came after playing every three days and we also have a big chance considering what happened this weekend.”
“We knew we were playing against a team that in my opinion is one of the best teams in recent times in terms of organization, but we knew how difficult they were going to make us, how frustrating they were going to be and the moment we lost concentration they would definitely punish us.
“We were able to be very consistent and play the game we were supposed to play. We were a little stuck in the first half, but we found a way to score goals. In the second half, we got better offensively and were more fluent.”
“At 1-0, we knew we had to suffer. This team has scored against every opponent this season, so it’s very important to keep a clean sheet.”
Glasner: “Not many teams create chances at Arsenal”
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Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner praised Arsenal’s set-piece skills in their 1-0 defeat at the Emirates.
Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner:
“To be honest, I haven’t seen a team create that many chances here. I think there were some moments where we could have been in more dangerous situations.
“Just in the second half, I think it was the second or third time, I found Ismaila Sarr in the pocket and then Declan Rice wasn’t overloading, he was putting pressure on me, so I recovered and won the ball.
“We couldn’t make more because it took too long. But on the other hand, we didn’t give them too much, but in some situations we gave them a little too much.
“It’s a credit to Arsenal how quickly they bounced back. We made two mistakes and were punished and that’s why we lost the game.”
European football tires Palace team
Analysis from Sky Sports’ Callum Bishop at Emirates Stadium:
The defeat leaves Crystal Palace without a win in four games. For a team that has been strong for most of Oliver Glassner’s tenure, the Eagles appear to be dealing with injuries right now.
Of course, they lost Eberechi Eze, but he would end up scoring the only goal of the afternoon for his new employers. However, Palace have lost big-time players before. Michael Olise joined Bayern Munich, but even without him the team won the FA Cup and qualified for Europe.
Since the start of the season, only four players have started for Palace in their Premier League games this season, including Eze, who did not start against Arsenal.
But the problem may lie there. Many teams are struggling with the balance between playing in domestic and European competitions. And Mr. Glasner’s side may be facing a similar challenge.
His starting XI consisted of the same line-up for the draw against Bournemouth and defeat against Everton, with only three changes made in midweek for the shock defeat to AEK Larnaca.
In fact, of the players who have not started against Arsenal since the start of the season, only four have made their first appearance in a Premier League game this season. Eze was one of them. The other three are Will Hughes, Jefferson Lerma and Justin Deveney.
With more games to prepare for and less time on the practice field, will Glasner’s over-reliance on the same select group of players come back to haunt him?
