Eberechi Eze scored against his former club a red-hot Arsenal held firm against Crystal Palace in a 1-0 win at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday.
MORE — Mikel Arteta reaction
Arsenal open up a four-point lead on the field as they reach 22 points through nine matches.
WATCH — Arsenal v Crystal Palace full match replay
Once high up the table, Crystal Palace slide all the way to 10th with their 13 points.
Arsenal good enough to win 1-0, but they shouldn’t often need that
Sometimes good teams just have those games where holding on for a win is a requirement. Inevitably, the result will be hailed as some sort of proof of a champions’ resolve. And that’s fine, but it’s just talk in the case of Arsenal. That’s not some sort of shot across their bow because they are yet to be champions — it’s because even with their injuries they should be producing so many more chances. Crystal Palace are a very good team and Oliver Glasner had them well set up, but this should’ve been 2-0 or even 3-0 well before the Eagles took hold of the final 20 minutes or so but couldn’t find an equalizer. Too much grief has been given to Viktor Gyokeres early this season but today he needed to be much better. Dean Henderson only faced 1.23 xG on the day and Eze’s goal was exceptional. Had the ex-Palace man missed with his acrobatic volley, the Gunners might’ve been shutout. It shouldn’t have been this close.
What’s next?
Arsenal host Brighton at 3:45pm ET Wednesday in the League Cup fourth round, then head to Turf Moor for a Saturday scrap at Burnley.
Palace are off to Liverpool for a Wednesday fourth round match in the League Cup before a London derby visit from Brentford in the Premier League on Saturday.
How to watch Arsenal vs Crystal Palace live, stream link and start time
Kick off time: 10am ET Sunday (October 26)
Venue: Emirates Stadium — London
TV Channel: Peacock
Streaming: Stream live on Peacock
Arsenal vs Crystal Palace final score: 1-0
Eberechi Eze 39'
Arsenal vs Crystal Palace live updates — by Nick Mendola
Palace putting Arsenal to the test
Arsenal defending for their lives — or at least their three points — as Palace are pushing now!
Gunners pushing for second
Arsenal have been much better in the second half, stingy as usual but with more intent in the final third.
Gabriel Martinelli replaced Bukayo Saka in the 66th minute, a few minutes after ex-Arsenal man Eddie Nektiah took Yeremy Pino’s place for Palace.
Arsenal sub
William Saliba exits for Cristhian Mosquera. Interesting because Gabriel Magalhaes was the Arsenal center back an uncertainty to play this game.
Halftime — Arsenal 1-0 Crystal Palace
A fair-enough lead for the Gunners, even if they were rather ordinary despite the possession advantage.
Eberechi Eze goal — Arsenal 1-0 Crystal Palace
A Declan Rice set-piece is knocked back toward the top of the box, where Eberechi Eze’s acrobatic leaping volley finds the back of the goal.
No celebration from the ex-Palace man, which probably isn’t all that fun considering it’s his first PL goal for his new club!
Finally something from Arsenal
The Gunners entered the 34th minute with 73% of the ball and 0.00 of the game’s combined 0.09 xG.
Leandro Trossard mercifully gives us hope of a breakthrough with a shot that’s caught by a ducking Dean Henderson.
Tight first 15
Arsenal have had more than 4/5 of the ball but Palace are well-organized to stifle the Gunners so far, and it’s fair to say that there’s been only a modicum of danger. A morsel, really.
What we’re saying is this game is yet to come to life.
Arsenal lineup
Raya, Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Calafiori, Rice, Zubimendi, Eze, Saka, Trossard, Gyokeres
Crystal Palace lineup
Henderson, Munoz, Richards, Lacroix, Guehi, Mitchell, Wharton, Kamada, Sarr, Pino, Mateta
Arsenal vs Crystal Palace preview — by Joe Prince-Wright
Mikel Arteta’s side have been ruthless and efficient so far as set-piece domination continues to fuel their charge for a first Premier League title in over 20 years. They won 1-0 at Fulham last weekend thanks to another set-piece goal and they hammered Atletico Madrid 4-0 at home in the UEFA Champions League in midweek to underline their status as a favorite to win both the Premier League and Champions League this season.
But Palace are having a fine start to the season too as Oliver Glasner’s side are juggling the demands of the Europa Conference League and Premier League well despite having a much smaller squad than other Premier League teams (such as Arsenal) who are also in Europe. They drew 3-3 at home with Bournemouth in the league last weekend as Jean Philippe-Mateta scored a hat trick and could have won it deep in stoppage time.
Arsenal team news, focus
The Gunners are still without long-term absentee Gabriel Jesus as he’s expected back in a few months from his knee injury. Another Gabriel, center back Magalhaes, sees his status in question for this match following a thigh injury. Martin Odegaard, Kai Havertz, and Noni Madueke are all still a few weeks away from returning too. Arteta has a busy few weeks with Premier League, Champions League and League Cup action but he is rotating much more this season. We can expect Riccardo Calafiori, Leandro Trossard and maybe Mikel Merino to start for Arsenal this weekend to keep things fresh. Viktor Gyokeres scored two against Atletico in midweek and that will be great for his confidence as he continues to plug away up top.
Crystal Palace team news, focus
Palace have Cheick Doucoure and Chadi Riad still out, while Caleb Kporha is also missing. Glasner will keep going with the same starting lineup which is playing so well as Daniel Munoz has been magnificent at right wing-back, while Mateta is banging in goals and could be scoring even more as Kamada, Wharton, Sarr and Pino are creating so many chances and chaos.
Arsenal vs Crystal Palace prediction
This will be a fun one if Palace score early and force Arsenal out of their comfort zone, but the Gunners are controlling games so well and should have just about enough to get over the line. Arsenal 2-1 Crystal Palace.
