Refreshed and rampant Arsenal score five but wrong Gabriels show scoring touch against Palace
Amidst all the striker talk, Gabriel Jesus could have done with a top-class performance against Crystal Palace. It wasn’t to be for him but it was for the Gunners, who cruised to victory and scored five goals to silence some of their loudest critics.
Ivan Toney and Victor Osimhen are the two names on everyone’s lips when asked who the No.9 to solve Arsenal’s goalscoring woes might be. It is not happening this month and that is the bottom line. So between now and the end of the season, Arteta will be relying on Jesus and Eddie Nketiah as his striker options.
Jesus was tasked with breaking down Crystal Palace’s compact 5-4-1 system deployed at the Emirates, with Leandro Trossard and Bukayo Saka either side of him.
It was a huge match after two Premier League defeats in a row and refreshed from a warm-weather training camp Dubai, you could tell Arsenal were rejuvenated and ready to get their title challenge back on track.
Not just a massive 90 minutes in the context of the title race but for several Arsenal players. Jesus, of course, has been in the spotlight, but a knackered Bukayo Saka has been criticised for his performances of late, as has Oleksandr Zinchenko and Ben White.
White and Saka have not been 100 per cent fit so the break after the Liverpool loss in the FA Cup could be significant no match for another ten days after Saturday’s win against Palace is a nice bonus and the only positive from being knocked out of a competition the Gunners still want to be in.
Against Palace, Saka was quiet but was not given the rough treatment Arsenal have become frustrated by, which is always nice. White, on the other hand, was solid and didn’t allow Eberechi Eze to have the sort of afternoon we are used to seeing from him.
Zinchenko, meanwhile, was superb and proved how crucial he is in Arsenal’s build-up play. His progressive passes and the pockets of space he picks up make Arsenal free-flowing and were one of the main reasons the Gunners were so electric last term, especially in the first half of 2022/23, which is a run they will need to emulate in the second half of this season.
While Arsenal were slick in possession and created some decent chances, it was not from open play that they put their London rivals to the sword at the Emirates.
It was a fast start from the hosts and midweek pictures of Declan Rice practicing corners came to fruition early on.
The feeling of being dazed and confused when he ran over to take the corner quickly became relief when I realised it would not be another dismal Trossard cross. The unexpected change in corner taker gave the Gunners the opening goal. Instead of Trossard failing to beat the first man, Rice delivered it deliciously to the back post for Gabriel Magalhaes to knock home.
Arsenal were not causing Palace too many problems in open play, punishing them again from a corner. It was a different taker in Bukayo Saka who found Gabriel at the back post this time, with his attempt on goal seemingly going wide, which is why Dean Henderson was given an own goal.
There was a debate about White’s position next to the Eagles goalkeeper, but the goal stood, as it should have done given the precedent that was set in Burnley’s draw against Luton Town last Friday.
It became three in the second half after Palace failed to punish Arsenal from a corner of their own. As soon as David Raya caught the ball he threw it out to Jesus and out of nowhere it was two attackers against one defender. The Gunners’ No. 9 played through Trossard to end his goal drought and also end an extraordinary run that saw all of his goals for the club assisted by Saka.
Somehow at three goals down in injury time, Palace completely capitulated and allowed Gabriel Martinelli to score twice after getting in behind the visitors’ defence.
Although Palace were okay defensively for 92 minutes, only giving up goals on the counter and from corners, it was an abysmal afternoon for them and a very straightforward one for the Gunners – who were able to bring off Rice, Gabriel, Jesus, Havertz and Trossard and give crucial minutes to West Ham target Emile Smith Rowe, Jorginho, Jakub Kiwior and Martinelli.
It now seems a case of when, not if, Steve Parish bites the bullet and replaces Roy Hodgson in the dugout. The Eagles supporters in the depleted away end let their feelings known late on, holding up banners that read: ‘Wasted potential on and off the pitch, weak decisions taking us backwards’ and ‘No shared vision, no structured plan, Parish out, Yanks out’.
Relegation feels unlikely but stranger things have happened in football. Palace are just gradually falling into that bracket of teams – alongside Brentford and Nottingham Forest – who will be in trouble if one of the promoted trio puts a run together. With some clubs, it feels like a case of ‘be careful what you wish for’, but not here. There is no reason to be optimistic as a Palace fan and there is a massive difference between losing 3-0 and being embarrassed 5-0.
Arsenal, though, will be delighted to demolish a team and get five goals on the board in a Premier League match for the second time this term. It’s just a shame the wrong Gabriel got on the scoresheet twice. Five goals in one game will not affect the striker rumours if your striker gets none of them, eh!
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