Gunners Thrashed The Eagles, As Martinelli Nets Brace—-Arsenal showed their expertise from set-pieces and put their goalscoring problems behind them to thrash a dismal Crystal Palace side 5-0 and move within two points of Premier League leaders Liverpool.
The Gunners came into the game with the best record from dead-ball scenarios and scored two goals from corners in the first half as Gabriel headed home the first – before the Brazilian forced an own goal off Palace goalkeeper Dean Henderson.
After the break, Arsenal then scored from a Palace corner, which David Raya claimed and fed Gabriel Jesus on the break. The Brazilian found Leandro Trossard, who did Arsenal’s much-maligned forward group a favour by finishing a clear-cut chance at the Emirates Stadium.
Palace then gave up in stoppage time as Gabriel Martinelli scored twice to put a sensational gloss on the scoreline.
The win moves Mikel Arteta’s side above Aston Villa into third – with the pressure on Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool to extend their lead at the top as they travel to Bournemouth on Sunday, live on Sky Sports at 4.30pm.
However, the result did come at a cost for title-chasing Arsenal, who saw goal-getter Declan Rice and Gabriel go off with injuries in the second half.
Meanwhile, it is one win in 12 matches in all competitions for Roy Hodgson’s Palace, who unveiled two angry banners towards full-time which read: ‘Wasted potential on and off the pitch, weak decisions taking us backwards’ and ‘no shared vision no structured plan’.
