Crystal Palace 1-5 Arsenal: Match report & talking points as Gunners flattered by one-sided scoreline

Crystal Palace lost 5-1 at home to Arsenal on Saturday night by a scoreline which flattered the vistors.

Mikel Arteta's side took the chances which their hosts squandered. The two clubs exchanged three goals in the first 15 minutes, with Gabriel Jesus nabbing a brace after his midweek hat-trick against the same opponents, before Kai Havertz poked the Gunners into a 3-1 half-time lead.

Palace continued to create and waste opportunities until Gabriel Martinelli's 60th-minute tap-in ended what had been an engaging contest. Declan Rice made it 5-1 in the closing stages to move Arsenal back into third place at the sharp end of the Premier League table.

How the game unfolded

Arsenal had to wait until the 54th minute of Wednesday's Carabao Cup quarter-final at the Emirates Stadium to find the net against Crystal Palace. Jesus fired the Gunners in front after six minutes at Selhurst Park on Saturday.

Ismaila Sarr slotted Palace level in the 11th minute, capping off a fluid passing sequence which began deep inside the hosts' own half. The Senegal international was the only Palace player to find the net, yet Oliver Glasner's side outshot Arsenal. The hosts, most notably Jean-Philippe Mateta, showed none of the clinical edge which Jesus had suddenly rediscovered.

Arsenal's reinvigorated Brazilian had scored one Premier League goal in the entirety of 2024, yet nabbed his second of the evening in the first half. For the fifth time this week, Jesus beat Dean Henderson, blasting a loose ball at the breakdown from a corner inside the near post.

Jesus had not entirely shed off his finishing issues. The number nine struck a post from with a header on the cusp of half-time which Kai Havertz was on hand to finish. When presented with an opening from point-blank range on the hour mark, Jesus had his effort beaten away by Henderson only for another teammate - on this occasion Gabriel Martinelli - to tuck away the loose ball.

Before Arsenal extended their lead in the second half, Palace had found time to squander two more chances, with Sarr limply nodded a pair of close-range headers into David Raya's welcoming gloves.

Rice added an undeserved layer of gloss to the scoreline in the 85th minute, bending a composed effort into the far corner to seal a victory which keeps Arsenal within touching distance of Chelsea and Liverpool.

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Blow for Bukayo Saka

Despite the convincing scoreline and narrowed gap at the Premier League summit, Saturday's result was tinged by plenty of negativity. Most notably, Bukayo Saka lasted just 25 minutes.

The 23-year-old has been Arsenal's most prolific player and creator-in-chief. Saka didn't make it to the half-hour mark but still found time to swing in the cross which led to Jesus' opener.

While Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard had their moments in his absence at Selhurst Park, it will be a far tougher test for those misfiring wingers if they are tasked with spearheading a Saka-less frontline for any sustained period of time.

Faith in Jesus rewarded

If only Jesus could play Crystal Palace every week. The Brazilian forward, a figure whose endeavour always exceeds his end product, has racked up five goals across two games against the Eagles. Over the last four days, Jesus has scored 20% of his career goals for Arsenal.

Roaming around the pockets of uncertainty which existed between Palace's back-three, Jesus could have bolstered his personal haul at Selhurst Park. Yet, for once, Arsenal's number nine will be remembered for his goals rather than his glaring misses.

However, the weight of expectation will return as soon as he draws another blank. As Jesus noted pre-game: "The pressure will always be there to score."

Crystal Palace first to every second ball

"I am sure both sides will change a few things," Arteta warned ahead of Arsenal's second encounter with Palace in the space of four days. However, there were some motifs running through both legs of this double header.

Namely, the trouble caused by a simple lump forward to Mateta. The burly Frenchman fired Palace in front at the Emirates on Wednesday night after bullying Jakub Kiwior off the ball. Arteta could have explained away that lapse by the absence of his first-choice centre-back duo, but William Saliba and Gabriel were both knocked off their stride by a worryingly simplistic route one approach.

However, it would be as unfair as the 5-1 scoreline to suggest that Palace exclusively played among the clouds.

Crystal Palace blunt Arsenal's press

Oliver Glasner is not to be underestimated. The canny Europa League winner with Eintracht Frankfurt was reportedly four games away from losing his just two months ago. Now his Palace side have opened up a four-point cushion above the drop zone and - despite back-to-back defeats - provided plenty of encouraging signs against Arsenal.

In the midweek cup loss, Glasner had replicated Monaco's defensive corner setup to limit Arsenal's potency from set pieces. The return of Gabriel undermined that approach on Saturday, but the Eagles managed to blunt Arsenal's press for much of the 5-1 reverse.

Martin Odegaard, who struggled in a second consecutive league start, was constantly caught in two minds when jumping forward to press. The Norwegian captain leads his side's first wave of pressure, but was repeatedly bypassed by brave and intricate passes, affording the hosts yawning chasms of space to advance into.

That Rice started the contest on the bench didn't help Arsenal's feeble attempts out of possession. Thomas Partey spent much of the match veering around in circles like an old, tattered suitcase on an airport luggage carousel, constantly whirling just out of reach of any red and blue shirt.

Rice concluded the contest with a crisp strike, but his most telling involvement came within two minutes of his second-half introduction. The all-action midfielder was first on hand to the rebound from Jesus' saved effort before expertly teeing up Martinelli.

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