Eberechi Eze Shines As Arsenal Beat Crystal Palace

 

Arsenal maintained its winning run with a 1-0 victory against Crystal Palace at Emirates Stadium and retained the Premier League top spot with four points clear of the nearest rivals, Bournemouth.

In their previous game, Arsenal mercilessly thrashed Atletico Madrid by 4-0 in the UEFA Champions League. Returning to the Premier League, they maintained their winning run with the defeat of Palace from Eberechi Eze's acrobatic kick. 

Declan Rice's cross from a free-kick landed in the box, and a poor head clearance set the ball up for Eberechi to rifle into the net. Though the midfielder was challenged for the ball, he maintained his composure and got the foot to the ball first. The shot neatly beat Dean Henderson to the net. 

The opening goal was Eze's first Premier League goal for Arsenal, and also his first goal against his former club, Palace. Arsenal now lead the Premier League table by 22 points. 

Overview 

Arsenal dominated the first half until Eze found the acrobatic shot that set the sides apart. It was one moment that Palace let its guard loose, and Declan Rice's cross from a free-kick was poorly cleared for an on-rushing Eze to get an acrobatic volley on the loose ball.  

Eze was prominent in the midfield, winning the ball from his opponents to keep the pressure on Palace. Trossard exploited his wing effectively to gain penetrations into the box. Though Viktor Gyokeres was crowded out, Gabriel Martinelli was brought in to bolster the attack and restore the vibrancy of the right wing. Even as the scoreline did not change, it was a satisfactory victory for the Gunners.