Arteta’s Arsenal Thump Crystal Palace to Move into Third Place

Arsenal stormed back into Premier League contention with a resounding 5-0 victory over Crystal Palace at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

The Gunners, buoyed by a raucous home crowd, put an end to their three-game winless streak in emphatic fashion, with Gabriel Martinelli grabbing a late brace to add gloss to a dominant performance.

Mikel Arteta’s side wasted no time in asserting their dominance, with Gabriel heading home Declan Rice’s corner in the 11th minute to open the scoring. Just 26 minutes later, the lead was doubled courtesy of an unfortunate own goal from Crystal Palace goalkeeper Dean Henderson, who could only watch in despair as Gabriel turned Bukayo Saka’s corner into his own net.

Image de Gabriel celebrates after scoring Arsenal’s second goal against Crystal Palace on January 20, 2024 at the Emirates Stadium in LondonS’ouvre dans une nouvelle fenêtre

Gabriel celebrates after scoring Arsenal’s second goal against Crystal Palace on January 20, 2024 at the Emirates Stadium in London

Leandro Trossard put the game to bed just before the hour mark, finishing coolly after being played through by Gabriel Jesus on the counter-attack. With Palace offering little resistance, Arsenal continued to pour forward, and it was only a matter of time before they added further goals.

Martinelli, introduced as a substitute in the second half, made his mark with two clinical finishes in the dying embers of the game, firstly slotting home after being found by Eddie Nketiah and then repeating the trick moments later to complete the rout.

Image de Gabriel Martinelli celebrates scoring Arsenal’s fifth goal against Crystal Palace on January 20, 2024 at the Emirates Stadium in LondonS’ouvre dans une nouvelle fenêtre

Gabriel Martinelli celebrates scoring Arsenal’s fifth goal against Crystal Palace on January 20, 2024 at the Emirates Stadium in London

The emphatic victory sees Arsenal leapfrog Aston Villa into third place in the Premier League table, just two points behind leaders Liverpool. Crystal Palace, on the other hand, are left licking their wounds in 14th position, with much work to do if they are to climb the table in the coming weeks.

Arsenal’s next test comes in the form of a trip to Nottingham Forest on January 30th, while Crystal Palace will be hoping to get back on track when they host Sheffield United on the same night.