Arsenal returned to winning ways with a 5-0 thrashing of toothless London rivals Crystal Palace on Saturday, moving up one position to third in the Premier League table.
Mikel Arteta’s team took control in the first half thanks to Gabriel’s headed goal from a corner and a Dean Henderson own goal, which was also mainly Gabriel’s work. With Palace looking lackluster, Leandro Trossard expanded the advantage just short of the hour by finishing off a sweeping play.
Gabriel Martinelli, Arsenal’s substitute, reinforced their advantage and added gloss to the scoreline with two nearly similar goals in stoppage time.
Palace, who are 14th, had a few chances of their own and almost equalised when Jefferson Lerma’s swerving shot was well-saved by David Raya shortly before Arsenal made it 2-0.
But the way they subsided will raise more questions about the future of veteran manager Roy Hodgson.
Such was Arsenal’s comfort that Arteta was able to make four substitutions late on with Declan Rice, Kai Havertz, Trossard and Gabriel all being given a breather.
Arsenal’s victory ended a run of three successive defeats in all competitions and put them level on 43 points with Aston Villa and champions Manchester City. Arsenal’s goal difference is superior to Villa’s but worse than City’s.
“Today we were much more efficient in the opponents’ box particularly than the last few games,” Arteta said.
