Arsenal punished Crystal Palace for sacking their legend Patrick Vieira by beating them 4-1 at the Emirates Stadium. The win took Arsenal to 69 points, eight points clear of second-placed Manchester City.
It took Arsenal about 15 minutes to settle into the the match and find their rhythm but as soon as they clicked, they started causing real problems to the Crystal Palace defence.
The breakthrough came in the 28th minute when Bukayo Saka set up Gabriel Martinelli and the Brazilian fired a powerful left-footer shot into the goal to give Arsenal the lead.
In the 43rd minute, Saka turned from provider to scorer finishing off a well-constructed move to double Arsenal’s lead and go into the break with a well-deserved lead.
In the second half, Leandro Trossard set up Granit Xhaka who scrapped the ball past Crystal Palace goalkeeper Joe Whitworth to make it three.
The Eagles pulled one back through Jeffrey Schlupp in the 63rd minute before Saka scored his second of the match to put the match to bed in the 74th minute.
Martinelli, who opened the scoring for the Gunners couldn’t hide his feeling after the game when reporters asked him what the goal and win mean to him and the team.
“I am very happy,” Martinelli said in the post-match address.
“We needed that win [after the Europa exit]. We go to every single game with the hunger to win them.”
Arsenal will play Leeds United on April 1, 2023, after the international break.
