Arsenal 5-0 Crystal Palace: Gunners reignite title bid with win - BBC Sport
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Arsenal 5-0 Crystal Palace: Gunners reignite title bid with win

By Gary RoseBBC Sport

Last updated on .From the section Premier Leaguecomments1284

Arsenal's Gabriel scores against Crystal Palace
Arsenal's win ended a run of three straight defeats in all competitions

Arsenal reignited their Premier League title challenge by thrashing struggling Crystal Palace at Emirates Stadium.

The Gunners' fight at the top had faltered towards the end of last year as they lost three of their past five Premier League games.

But, after heading off to Dubai for a week-long winter break, Mikel Arteta's side returned reinvigorated as a Gabriel header, Dean Henderson own goal, Leandro Trossard finish and two late Gabriel Martinelli strikes sealed the three points.

The first two goals came from corners, with the opener coming in the 11th minute when Gabriel nodded in before the defender's header from another set-piece struck Crystal Palace goalkeeper Henderson to deflect into the back of the net.

The visitors offered little in response. Instead Arsenal added to their lead in the second half when Trossard was sent one-on-one with the goalkeeper and kept his cool to finish confidently.

With Palace already well beaten, Martinelli added further sheen to the win with two goals in injury time, both swept into the far corner.

The win moves Arsenal up to third, two points behind leaders Liverpool but having played a game more than Jurgen Klopp's side. Crystal Palace, meanwhile, remain 14th in the table.

'Re-energised' Arsenal show their title-chasing intent

Having seen their title challenge fall away in the latter stages of last season, Gunners fans will no doubt have been concerned by the dip in form their side had towards the end of 2023.

Their only victory in their final five league games of the year was a narrow win against Brighton, while they suffered defeats by Aston Villa, West Ham and Fulham.

The big concern for Arsenal was their struggle to score in that run as they failed to convert the chances they were creating.

But Mikel Arteta said his side had returned from their winter break re-energised, and so it proved with this big win.

They made the most of the opportunities they created, finishing from set-piece situations while Trossard's goal and Martinelli's two late shots showed the sort of clinical composure the Gunners' attack has been missing recently.

Palace fans make their feelings known as slump continues

Crystal Palace fans display a banner towards the end of the game at Arsenal
Crystal Palace fans directed their frustration at the club's situation towards the owners

This was always going to be a tough ask for a Palace side missing several key players through injury and international duty, but boss Roy Hodgson will have been disappointed by just how little they offered as an attacking threat.

He had challenged his team to "ask questions" of Arsenal with the few chances they would create, but they failed to do that as they rarely threatened, with most of their shots coming from range.

The one positive for the visitors was the performance of Eberechi Eze. The midfielder - making his 100th Premier League appearance for the Eagles - was their top player and had their best chance with a free-kick that David Raya tipped over.

Palace have now won just one of their past 10 Premier League games and their position in the table is looking increasingly precarious. They are 14th, five points above the relegation zone but having played a game more than Luton in 18th.

The visiting fans made their frustrations known towards the end of the game as they displayed a banner saying: "Wasted potential on and off the pitch, weak decisions taking us backwards."

Player of the match

Gabriel MartinelliGabriel Martinelli

with an average of 8.75

Arsenal

  1. Squad number11Player nameGabriel Martinelli
    Average rating

    8.75

  2. Squad number6Player nameGabriel Magalhães
    Average rating

    8.60

  3. Squad number2Player nameSaliba
    Average rating

    7.59

  4. Squad number19Player nameTrossard
    Average rating

    7.54

  5. Squad number41Player nameRice
    Average rating

    7.47

  6. Squad number10Player nameSmith Rowe
    Average rating

    7.43

  7. Squad number8Player nameØdegaard
    Average rating

    7.36

  8. Squad number7Player nameSaka
    Average rating

    7.07

  9. Squad number9Player nameGabriel Jesus
    Average rating

    6.96

  10. Squad number20Player nameJorginho
    Average rating

    6.87

  11. Squad number4Player nameWhite
    Average rating

    6.82

  12. Squad number35Player nameZinchenko
    Average rating

    6.78

  13. Squad number14Player nameNketiah
    Average rating

    6.53

  14. Squad number29Player nameHavertz
    Average rating

    6.53

  15. Squad number15Player nameKiwior
    Average rating

    6.40

  16. Squad number22Player nameRaya
    Average rating

    5.89

Crystal Palace

  1. Squad number10Player nameEze
    Average rating

    5.12

  2. Squad number8Player nameLerma
    Average rating

    4.96

  3. Squad number6Player nameGuéhi
    Average rating

    4.69

  4. Squad number16Player nameAndersen
    Average rating

    4.54

  5. Squad number19Player nameHughes
    Average rating

    4.39

  6. Squad number3Player nameMitchell
    Average rating

    4.33

  7. Squad number15Player nameSchlupp
    Average rating

    4.17

  8. Squad number14Player nameMateta
    Average rating

    4.17

  9. Squad number30Player nameHenderson
    Average rating

    4.07

  10. Squad number17Player nameClyne
    Average rating

    4.06

  11. Squad number26Player nameRichards
    Average rating

    4.03

  12. Squad number29Player nameAhamada
    Average rating

    3.97

  13. Squad number11Player nameMatheus França
    Average rating

    3.88

  14. Squad number5Player nameTomkins
    Average rating

    3.85

  15. Squad number52Player nameOzoh
    Average rating

    3.83

Line-ups

Arsenal

Formation 4-3-3

  • 22Raya
  • 4White
  • 2Saliba
  • 6GabrielSubstituted forKiwiorat 81'minutes
  • 35Zinchenko
  • 8Ødegaard
  • 41RiceSubstituted forJorginhoat 73'minutes
  • 29HavertzSubstituted forSmith Roweat 69'minutes
  • 7Saka
  • 9Gabriel JesusSubstituted forNketiahat 81'minutes
  • 19TrossardSubstituted forMartinelliat 69'minutes

Substitutes

  • 1Ramsdale
  • 10Smith Rowe
  • 11Martinelli
  • 14Nketiah
  • 15Kiwior
  • 17Cédric Soares
  • 20Jorginho
  • 24Nelson
  • 76Walters

Crystal Palace

Formation 3-4-3

  • 30Henderson
  • 26Richards
  • 16Andersen
  • 6GuéhiSubstituted forTomkinsat 87'minutes
  • 17ClyneSubstituted forAhamadaat 76'minutes
  • 8Lerma
  • 19HughesSubstituted forOzohat 68'minutes
  • 3Mitchell
  • 15SchluppSubstituted forFrança de Oliveiraat 76'minutes
  • 14Mateta
  • 10Eze

Substitutes

  • 1Johnstone
  • 5Tomkins
  • 11França de Oliveira
  • 22Édouard
  • 23Ebiowei
  • 29Ahamada
  • 44Riedewald
  • 45Adaramola
  • 52Ozoh
Referee:
Paul Tierney
Attendance:
60,284

Match Stats

Home TeamArsenalAway TeamCrystal Palace
Possession
Home61%
Away39%
Shots
Home21
Away12
Shots on Target
Home7
Away5
Corners
Home6
Away7
Fouls
Home8
Away12

Live Text

  1. Post update

    Match ends, Arsenal 5, Crystal Palace 0.

  2. Full Time

    Second Half ends, Arsenal 5, Crystal Palace 0.

  3. Goal!

    Goal! Arsenal 5, Crystal Palace 0. Gabriel Martinelli (Arsenal) right footed shot from the centre of the box to the bottom right corner. Assisted by Jorginho with a through ball following a fast break.

  4. Goal!

    Goal! Arsenal 4, Crystal Palace 0. Gabriel Martinelli (Arsenal) right footed shot from the left side of the box to the bottom right corner. Assisted by Eddie Nketiah with a through ball following a fast break.

  5. Post update

    Attempt missed. Chris Richards (Crystal Palace) header from the centre of the box is just a bit too high. Assisted by Eberechi Eze with a cross following a corner.

  6. Post update

    Corner, Crystal Palace. Conceded by Oleksandr Zinchenko.

  7. Post update

    Attempt saved. Oleksandr Zinchenko (Arsenal) left footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the centre of the goal.

  8. Substitution

    Substitution, Crystal Palace. James Tomkins replaces Marc Guéhi because of an injury.

  9. Post update

    William Saliba (Arsenal) wins a free kick in the attacking half.

  10. Post update

    Foul by Jean-Philippe Mateta (Crystal Palace).

  11. Post update

    Offside, Crystal Palace. Matheus França is caught offside.

  12. Post update

    Foul by Ben White (Arsenal).

  13. Post update

    Eberechi Eze (Crystal Palace) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

  14. Substitution

    Substitution, Arsenal. Jakub Kiwior replaces Gabriel Magalhães because of an injury.

  15. Post update

    Delay over. They are ready to continue.

  16. Substitution

    Substitution, Arsenal. Eddie Nketiah replaces Gabriel Jesus.

  17. Post update

    Delay in match because of an injury Gabriel Magalhães (Arsenal).

  18. Post update

    Delay in match because of an injury Marc Guéhi (Crystal Palace).

  19. Post update

    Foul by Gabriel Magalhães (Arsenal).

  20. Post update

    Jean-Philippe Mateta (Crystal Palace) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

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1284 comments

  • Comment posted by Gaz, at 15:17 20 Jan

    I love the lazy B.B.C. hacks.
    If Arsenal win = reignited title challenge.
    If Palace win = Arteta to lose his job.
    any player scores two goals = of interest to Man Utd.
    any Player has good game = of interest to Chelsea
    any Brighton Player = £100million deal with Chelsea.
    Salah injury = end of Liverpool challenge.
    Poor standard of Journalism that i resent paying for.

    • Reply posted by OnTheBuses, at 15:20 20 Jan

      OnTheBuses replied:
      Any club gets a points sanction it’s straight to The Etihad to shoe horn into the six o’clock news what about this lot blah blah blah

  • Comment posted by BethnalExpat, at 14:32 20 Jan

    Anyone can see that these are the last few days or weeks of Roy’s long management career .... let it play out respectfully.

    • Reply posted by lee roy, at 15:08 20 Jan

      lee roy replied:
      Long, but not very good.

  • Comment posted by Taxi for Ozil, at 14:34 20 Jan

    When ESR came on he just looked so comfortable on the ball, a real Arsenal player! We need to find this boy more minutes!

    • Reply posted by name pending , at 14:41 20 Jan

      name pending replied:
      Yes he should start against Forrest in our next match

  • Comment posted by Fan Of Whoever Plays Man Utd, at 14:31 20 Jan

    Palace were so bad today that this match doesn’t really tell us anything about the quality of Arsenal. Even Sheffield Utd would have thrashed Palace today.

    • Reply posted by SuperDuper, at 14:44 20 Jan

      SuperDuper replied:
      True. It's like UTD, win against a team and turn a corner. Play Luton next week and lose. Consistency isn't there

  • Comment posted by oldboy, at 14:36 20 Jan

    Re ignited their title challenge, it was Palace ffs! 🙄

    • Reply posted by Markyp1965, at 14:48 20 Jan

      Markyp1965 replied:
      And if they’d failed to beat Palace, you'd have been jumping all over Arsenal and celebrating how bad they are.

  • Comment posted by t d , at 14:35 20 Jan

    Thank god Roy took Eze off in the cup at 1 down to save him for the Arsenal game, great plan

    • Reply posted by Jerome, at 14:38 20 Jan

      Jerome replied:
      Don't be too harsh. It's an extremely competitive league and he's fighting without much ammo.

  • Comment posted by over-and-out, at 14:40 20 Jan

    Graham Potter was at the game, wondering whether to become palace’s new manager

    • Reply posted by KD, at 14:53 20 Jan

      KD replied:
      Definitely a good shout he did a great job at Brighton. Time for Roy to enjoy a well earned retirement. Best of luck for the rest of the season.

  • Comment posted by Taxi for Ozil, at 14:33 20 Jan

    We really needed that win! When we were top at Christmas the pundits said we were the real deal. Then we lost a couple & we were immediately also fans! It’s just white noise! We now need to go on a winning run & see where it takes us. What others think just doesn’t matter!

    • Reply posted by Bazil, at 14:36 20 Jan

      Bazil replied:
      Especially the so called pundit experts in the bbc etc 🤡

  • Comment posted by Ursicles, at 14:39 20 Jan

    Thanks for all your hard work Roy, but it's time to say goodbye. Always be a club legend, but this season has been a step too far.

    • Reply posted by D1708725655135, at 14:42 20 Jan

      D1708725655135 replied:
      Yeah he needs to resign before they sack him good old Roy !👍

  • Comment posted by brokenbrain, at 14:34 20 Jan

    Pathetic from Palace really

    • Reply posted by SuperDuper, at 14:45 20 Jan

      SuperDuper replied:
      Handed to Arsenal on a plate

  • Comment posted by Fan Of Whoever Plays Man Utd, at 14:31 20 Jan

    How much longer are Palace going to keep Roy? They didn’t allow this much leeway to Patrick Vieira nor would they have if it had been another manager so why for old Roy? Do Palace want his final managerial act to be a Palace relegation?

    • Reply posted by The Spin Doctor, at 14:39 20 Jan

      The Spin Doctor replied:
      Roy is a Crystal Palace institution but he still needs to be put out to pasture.

  • Comment posted by GOAT, at 14:39 20 Jan

    Palace were pathetic

    • Reply posted by The Spin Doctor, at 15:40 20 Jan

      The Spin Doctor replied:
      That is an understatement.

  • Comment posted by D1713928031799, at 14:45 20 Jan

    Presumably Palace's tactics were thought up by the same person who thought the beebs new football homepage was a good idea.

    • Reply posted by db, at 16:35 20 Jan

      db replied:
      Tart but sweet. 8^)

      At least they attempted to match your color scheme. 8^)

  • Comment posted by Specialist_in_tailoring, at 14:33 20 Jan

    Goal difference improved by +5 just like that. Might make all the difference at the end of the season

    COYG

    • Reply posted by Bearsie Family, at 14:36 20 Jan