Arsenal are again irresistible. The Gunners, who had experienced a slight air pocket (one point in three games) in February before achieving narrow successes against Aston Villa, Leicester or Bournemouth, again chained up a very high level of performance that looks set to take them to the title of champions. to take . After an already convincing victory over Fulham (0-3) on March 12, Mikel Arteta’s players made an impression this Sunday afternoon by outclassing Crystal Palace (4-1) at home as part of the Premier League matchday 28.
This result allows Arsenal to consolidate their status as leader of the Premier League and now has an 8-point lead over runners-up Manchester City, who have one game less. Indeed, the Sky Blues played an FA Cup quarter-final on Saturday, which they comfortably won against Burnley (6-0).
On the other hand, with regard to Crystal Palace, who failed to win a championship game in 2023, the situation seems increasingly fragile: the Eagles remain twelfth, just three points ahead of the first non-relegated, West Ham , who have played two fewer games .
The psychological shock hoped for with the firing of Patrick Vieira on Friday, whose name was chanted by Gunners fans at the Emirates on Sunday, failed to materialise. Palace, who were coached by interim Paddy McCarthy, again proved to be confusingly weak, especially on the attacking side. And this was despite Jeffrey Schlupp’s goal, with a shot from the left from close range (3-1, 63rd), ending a long 441-minute spell in which the Eagles had not scored in the Championship.
It should be noted that Wilfried Zaha could have opened the scoring at the start of the game, but his shot from the right hit the base of the post and then the back of Aaron Ramsdale, before coming out (11th).
Two goals and an assist for Saka
This was the only real warning for the Gunners who once again stunned their opponents with the quality of their moves and the diversity of their offensive intent. The big man of the match was again Bukayo Saka, author of a sparkling season, who scored two goals against Palace from the left: the first with a low shot after a one-two in full width with Ben White (2-0 , 43rd), the second by taking an unchecked good serve from Kieran Tierney (4-1, 74th).
In addition, the England winger provided an assist on the opener, sending a tight cross to the far post for Martinelli, who immediately erased Joel Ward with a right hook before punishing Joe Whitworth with a shot into the small net (1-0, 28th). At the end of this encounter, Saka became the first Premier League player this season to record at least 10 goals and 10 assists (he now has 12 and 10 respectively).
Finally, the Gunners’ final performance was the work of Granit Xhaka, from the left, in the area after a good deep serve from Leandro Trossard (3-0, 55th). The Swiss has already had six assists since his arrival from Brighton in January: if Arsenal are indeed crowned at the end of the season, he too will have played a decisive role in this quest.