Arsenal ended their three-game winless run in the Premier League after defeating Crystal Palace 5-0 at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
Premier League
Result: Arsenal 5-0 Crystal Palace
Date: 20 January 2024
Venue: Emirates Stadium
The Gunners were boosted by the return of Oleksandr Zinchenko while Leandro Trossard was given a start in place of Gabriel Martinelli, who missed out through injury.The home side got off to the perfect start as defender Gabriel rose above his marker to nod home a corner from Declan Rice.
Palace, meanwhile, had to wait until the 30th minute for an opening at goal when Lerma pounced on a poor clear by David Raya and unleashed a powerful volley that forced the Gunners shot-stopper into a superb save.
However, Arsenal doubled their lead four minutes later when some more poor defending from a corner ended with goalkeeper Dean Henderson deflecting Gabriel's header into his own net.
The Gunners added a third goal just before the hour mark when a swift counter-attack ended with Gabriel Jesus picking out the run of Trossard, who skipped past one challenge before rifling the ball past Henderson.
With the Ginners holding a comfortable lead, coach Mikel Arteta introduced a double change as Trossard and Kai Havertz made way for Emile Smith-Rowe and Martinelli for the final 20 minutes.
For the away side, Roy Hodgson's men found it tough to carve out any clear-cut openings in the second period as striker Jean-Philippe Mateta endured a frustrating afternoon against William Saliba and Gabriel.
That was the trend for the rest of the encounter as the Gunners bagged two more goals in second-half stoppage time, with Martinelli getting two late goals to wrap up the contest after some sloppy defending.
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