After four games without a win before the winter break, Arsenal showed few signs of recovery as they beat Crystal Palace with a comfortable 5-0 victory.
There were some nerves at the Emirates Stadium that the poor performances from before the January break could continue, but Mikel Arteta’s team looked much improved in north London.
Gabriel opened the scoring and then Dean Henderson forced an own goal. Leandro Trossard scored the third goal shortly into the second half, before Gabriel Martinelli came off the bench to score. Express Sport highlights five talking points.
Mikel Arteta’s master plan is coming true:
Arsenal have mostly been honing their multi-man skills over the winter break. Assistant coach Nicolas Jover has had a big influence on Arsenal’s dead-ball situations in recent years.
In the first half, the Gunners scored 11 goals from corners, the most in the Premier League. Although they have also scored four goals in their last six games.
Arsenal were 2-0 up thanks to two excellent crosses from corners by Declan Rice and Bukay Sako, plus his movement style was obviously trained on the training ground while the team was preparing in Dubai.
Defender Gabriel made both crosses superbly, headed over after Rice’s corner and Henderson forced an own goal shortly before half-time. Arsenal desperately want more goals, but continuing its threat from set-pieces will be a huge advantage.
Arsenal still need a striker:
Although some fans ironically point out that Gabriel should play up front after his attacking performance against Palace, the reality is that Arsenal still lack a focal point. Gabriel Jesus and Eddie Nketiah have been too inconsistent, scoring only eight Premier League goals this term.
Ivan Toney and Victor Osimhen are unavailable in January due to Arsenal’s limited budget. Arteta needs to find a prolific ninth midfielder with a real presence as soon as possible.