21 December 2024
Crystal Palace 1 Arsenal 5
After being knocked out of the Carabao Cup in midweek by The Gunners, the fixture list threw up another encounter between the pair as Mikel Arteta’s side travelled to Selhurst Park. The hosts were unbeaten in five games but welcomed an Arsenal team who knew that victory would put them within three points of leaders Liverpool.
Saka started to cause some problems for The Eagles down the right wing early on. He took on Mitchell and used his pace to good effect to get a yard of space to stand up a cross into the box. The hosts failed to deal with it and the ball dropped to Jesus, who passed it into the net to give the visitors an early lead. After scoring a hat-trick in midweek against Palace, the Brazilian had struck again.
It was his first goal since January, not a stat to be proud of when calling yourself a striker. Many had questioned whether he scored enough to fire The Gunners to a Premier League title. Well, he had answered a lot of critics questions this week and the answer seemed a categorical ‘yes’. As long as Arteta’s side could play Crystal Palace every week it seems.
The visitors were dominating possession but Glasner’s side came forward on a rare trip into Arsenal territory. Mitchell did well down the left bombing forward, before he spotted the movement of Sarr. He picked him out with a pass and the former Watford winger then bent his shot past Raya and into the far corner of the goal. Selhurst Park erupted as it nestled into the net.
While this had started as somewhat of a one-sided game, The Eagles grew in confidence as Arsenal continued to try and play out from the back and making a complete hash of it. Arteta once claimed they brought Raya in due to his abilities with the ball at his feet. From what we see weekly now, we can only assume he has had those trotters amputated and replaced with less coherent ones.
Arsenal then forced a corner and as the hosts failed to clear their lines, Partey laid it off into the path of Jesus. He bent his shot around the melee of players and into the back of the net. Chants of ‘can we play you every week’ began but it was only The Gunners’ striker singing it. Either way, the visitors had restored their lead in the capital.
The Eagles should have equalised when Saliba gifted the ball to Sarr. He unselfishly fed it into the path of Mateta, but with only Raya to beat, his effort was poor and allowed the keeper to make a block. This is where Glasner’s side struggle, for a team who do not create an abundance of chances, they are not clinical enough in front of goal.
Then came the moment that every Arsenal fan feared. Saka pulled up out wide, immediately signalling to the bench, while clutching his hamstring. The winger was forced off and Arteta had his fingers crossed it was not as serious as it looked. Later scans would prove the opposite as it was confirmed he has a hamstring tear and could be out until February.
Arteta’s side continued to press and Gabriel rose to meet a cross, only to see his effort come back off the post. Havertz reacted quickest to tap the ball into an empty net to double the visitors’ lead. It was some good wing play from Martinelli to create the chance, The Gunners would be needing to see a lot more of this if the influential Saka was to have a spell out on the sidelines.
After the interval, Palace started with some renewed confidence. Sarr had a big chance to reduce the deficit with a header but it was well saved by Sarr. Moments later another chance fell to Mateta but his weak header was flamboyantly saved by the Spaniard. These misses were to prove pivotal in this London derby for both sides.
Jesus had the chance to notch another hat-trick but his shot was saved by Henderson. As Rice looked to shoot from the edge of the box, Martinelli diverted it into the net to seemingly put this game to bed. There seemed no way back for The Eagles and they were left wondering what could have been. Sarr and Mateta could have changed the game early in the half but it was not to be.
Rice added another for The Gunners with a great finish from just inside the box. It made for a comprehensive scoreline and topped off a perfect week for Mikel Arteta. Well, almost perfect. Of course Saka was leaving the ground on crutches and the news from the medical team was to put some negativity on the festive period for the Spaniard.
The manager has spent in excess of £600m+ at the helm in North London but their squad does not seem to have the required depth to deal with key injuries. Two players in particular that they can never afford to be without long-term are Odegaard and Saka. How he will cope in this period remains to be seen and will no doubt play on his mind sat with his family pulling crackers this week.
Jesus has had a week to remember, bagging five goals against The Eagles, all on his birthday week. After the game he spoke of how he never doubted himself and always plays with a smile on his face. He may want to check footage of his games, he usually plays with the look on his face of someone who has spotted a mate that owes him money lavishly enjoying a night out on the town.
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