If somebody asked coach Mikel Arteta what would be his ideal situation against Crystal Palace, his answer would probably be ‘an easy win with a least one goal after the first half and no injuries’. And his dreams came through today, as Arsenal finally won in 2024 and crushed poor Crystal Palace 5-0. That was just what doctor ordered for the Gunners, who won the last time on December 147th against Brighton and went on with a three-match losing streak in all competitions before encounter with their London rivals. And the rivals just couldn’t be better for shaky Arsenal: a Crystal Palace team with injuries to key players and with a horrific form (just two wins from their last 15 matches in all competitions).Arsenal were additionally boosted by the returns of Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko from injuries and the Brazilian setup the third goal. The Gunners benefited from the 14 days rest and mini-camp in Dubai and the only real danger (if any) was when the score was still 1-0. Gabriel opened the scoring after only 11 minutes and from that moment on, everybody at the stadium waited for that second goal, which would ‘kill the game’. Palace’s keeper Dean Henderson made sure of that with an own goal in the 37th minute and that was it. The only situation in which Crystal Palace threatened to the hosts was when David Raya himself made a mistake and gave the ball to Lerma, who fired the ball straight back at him and ‘saved him’. When Jesus assisted Trossard for the third goal in the 59th minute, it was all over. Arteta could even use the result to finally give Emile Smith-Rowe some playing time (20 minutes) before late sub Marinelli scored two goals in injury time. The guests had one chance in the second half, but Raya saved a free kick from Schlupp and Crystal Palace players were booed by their own away fans.ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUESaturdayArsenal – Crystal Palace 5-0 (2-0)/20.30: (2.00) Brentford (3.60) Nott.Forest (4.10)Sunday17.00: (3.45) Sheffield Utd (3.45) West Ham (2.25)19.30: (4.60) Bournemouth (3.80) Liverpool (1.75)Monday22.45: (1.67) Brighton (4.00) Wolverhampton (5.60)***odds are subject to change
