Nothing however a win will do for Arsenal now of their pursuit of the Premier League title.
Chelsea and Liverpool are hovering excessive however even with Manchester Metropolis seemingly now out of the race, the Gunners must be excellent.
They’ve been removed from that in latest weeks, nonetheless, dropping 4 factors towards Fulham and Everton during the last two weekends.
Properly, on a weekend when boss Mikel Arteta celebrated 5 years in command of Arsenal, they gave him the right current with a rampant 5-1 win at Selhurst Park, defeating Crystal Palace for the second time this week.
Simply days in the past the north London facet defeated their London rivals within the Carabao Cup however this victory arguably had better which means given their performances within the league over the previous few weeks.
Like he was on the Emirates on Wednesday night, Gabriel Jesus was the hero as soon as once more.
Gabriel Jesus’ efficiency vs Crystal Palace
What every week this has been for the Brazilian striker. Towards Palace in midweek, the previous Man Metropolis star scored a first-class hat-trick and grabbed his first targets at dwelling for simply over a yr.
He was nonetheless awaiting his first Premier League aim since January, however that got here on Saturday when Jesus delivered one other scintillating show.
Kai Havertz, Gabriel Martinelli and Declan Rice additionally acquired on the scoresheet but it surely was Jesus who stole the present, scoring the opener with a neat end from round six yards out.
His second aim was an excellent higher strike. Following a nook, Thomas Partey laid possession into the trail of the Brazil worldwide who wrapped his foot across the ball and hammered it previous Dean Henderson.
This has been a landmark week for Jesus and with Bukayo Saka cruelly going off with a hamstring harm within the first half, the significance of his contributions within the remaining third will solely be elevated.
He fairly probably might have had greater than two as effectively with the 27-year-old hanging the submit which led to Havertz’s aim after which sticking a easy one-on-one probability straight at Henderson in the identical section of play that Martinelli discovered the web from.
It was one other sensible efficiency however the identical can’t be stated of 1 man on the again.

Efficiency in Numbers
Need information and stats? Soccer FanCast’s Efficiency in Numbers sequence offers you with the most recent match evaluation from throughout Europe.
Saliba’s efficiency in numbers vs Crystal Palace
Over the previous few years, William Saliba has been generally known as probably the greatest central defenders within the league. He’s the pure inheritor to Van Dijk because the Premier League’s foremost centre-half.
Just a few days in the past, he was celebrated as probably the greatest in all the world too, with FIFA’s The Greatest award deciding on him amongst their Staff of the 12 months.
Kylian Mbappe even steered the defender ought to have been France’s Participant of 2024, given his impeccable shows for membership and nation.
Subsequently, his efficiency at Selhurst Park on Saturday night was somewhat perplexing with that in thoughts, with Jamie Carragher commentating on Sky Sports activities summing issues up effectively by suggesting he had an “terrible first 20 minutes”.
Due to Saliba, Arsenal might effectively have conceded twice inside these moments. For Ismaila Sarr’s equaliser, the Frenchman backtracked and did not get shut sufficient to the Palace ahead who was allowed to fireplace previous David Raya beneath little or no stress from the Gunners’ defence.
Simply minutes later the defender virtually value Arteta’s males a second aim. Saliba acquired caught in possession by Sarr who then slipped in Jean-Philippe Mateta.
A scorer towards the north Londoners just some days earlier than within the Carabao Cup, he fluffed his strains right here, permitting Raya to return out and smother the striker’s sensible probability to attain.
One mistake from Saliba is a rarity however to get two in a single sport is sort of exceptional. Reality be advised, it was maybe his worst half for the membership but, with GOAL handing him a 4/10 match ranking following the full-time whistle.
The numbers did not paint the prettiest image of his night both.
Saliba vs Crystal Palace |
|
---|---|
Minutes performed |
98 |
Touches |
116 |
Correct passes |
100/105 (95%) |
Clearances |
4 |
Interceptions |
1 |
Tackles |
0 |
Lengthy balls |
1/2 |
Floor duels received |
1/4 |
Aerial duels received |
1/1 |
Possession misplaced |
8x |
Dribble success |
1/3 |
Stats through Sofascore. |
Certainly, Saliba did not make a profitable deal with all sport and solely received considered one of his 4 floor duels, a statistic that summed up how out of types the Frenchman was this weekend.
With matches coming thick and quick over the festive interval, Arsenal might want to rediscover their knack for preserving clear sheets once more. An in-form Saliba – not the one they acquired on Saturday – will probably be key to that.

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