Arsenal 4-1 Crystal Palace: 3 talking points as Saka destroys Palace

Arsenal secured an impressive 4-1 win over Crystal Palace at the Emirates Stadium to heap the pressure on Manchester City. Two first-half goals from Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka sent the Gunners on their way.

Mikel Arteta made just the one change from the side that beat Fulham 3-0 in the league last time out, with William Saliba out due to a back injury and Rob Holding coming into the starting line-up.

Arsenal dominated the opening exchanges and took the lead just before the half-hour mark. After some good work from Ben White and Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli was found with a cross. He took a touch and lashed home past Joe Whitworth.

The Gunners continued to dominate proceedings and doubled their lead just before half-time. A superb one-two with White and Saka saw the winger in on goal, and he calmly slotted home for his 11th goal of the campaign.

It was a superb half from Arsenal as they went into the break in complete control.

Arsenal continued their dominant form, and they had their third just nine minutes into the half. A neat one-two between Leandro Trossard and Granit Xhaka found the Swiss in the box, and he poked home from close range to effectively end the game as a contest.

Palace grabbed a goal back from a corner just minutes later after Jeffrey Schlupp bundled in from close range.

Saka added his second with a little over 15 minutes to play. A neat cutback from Kieran Tierney found Saka alone in the box, he took his shot first time and lashed it into the net.

The Gunners saw out the remaining minutes with minimal fuss as it was complete domination at the Emirates Stadium as they moved eight points clear of Manchester City.

Arsenal 4-1 Crystal Palace: 3 talking points as Saka destroys Palace

The game provided plenty of talking points, here they are.

1. Pressure now on City

Arsenal’s win over Palace was crucial in the context of the title race. With the win, the Gunners now move eight points clear of City, but Pep Guardiola’s side have a game in hand.

But…

There is now even more pressure on City to win their remaining games as the margin for error is now incredibly small. While City have the easier run in between the two sides, Arsenal racking up any wins from now until the end of the season is like gold.

There’s still a long way to go, but Arsenal have a nice buffer now.

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