Bukayo Saka scored twice as Arsenal defeated Crystal Palace 4-1 at home on Sunday to extend their advantage over the competition by eight points going into the international break. Arsenal took advantage of the fact that Manchester City was involved in the FA Cup by scoring twice, once via Gabriel Martinelli and once through Granit Xhaka. While Palace’s first goal in five league games by Jeffrey Schlupp in the second half temporarily gave them optimism, Arsenal continued to dominate and maintain their lead as they seek to win their first English championship in 19 years.
Arsenal’s 69 points from 28 games, a new English league record, came from their seventh win in a London derby this year. Manchester City, the defending champions, have 61 points but have played one less game.
Although losing on penalties to Sporting in the Europa League on Thursday, Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal team was still able to record their sixth straight Premier League victory before halftime. Martinelli scored the game’s first goal off a ball from Saka in the 28th minute. After being set up by a ball from Ben White, Saka extended Arsenal’s advantage in the 43rd minute by steering a low shot past Palace’s young goalkeeper Joe Whitworth.
Leandro Trossard assisted Xhaka in scoring the third goal in the 55th minute to prolong Arsenal’s dominance in the second half. Schlupp scored for Palace shortly after the hour mark, but despite a few tense moments when Wilfried Zaha narrowly missed, Arsenal was determined to clinch their win. In the 74th minute, Saka secured Arsenal’s win by guiding in a first-time effort from Kiernan Tierney’s ball for his 12th league goal of the year.
Palace, which fired manager Patrick Vieira earlier this week, is still in 12th position but is just three points above the relegation zone and has not had a winning season since 2023.
There was excitement at the final whistle as Arsenal supporters celebrated their team’s triumph and an eight-point lead heading into April, with the season short halting for England’s Euro 2024 qualifiers against Italy and Ukraine. We needed that victory, and tonight we accomplished just that because, as I always say, we treat every game like a championship.
