Arsenal 1-0 Crystal Palace: Arteta hails ‘massive win’ after Gunners go four points clear

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta hailed Eberechi Eze after the midfielder sank former club Crystal Palace with the only goal at the Emirates this afternoon.

The Gunners were a long way from their sparkling best but another resolute defensive display, and a bit of magic from Eze, settled a dour encounter to move Arsenal four points clear at the top of the table.

Eze fired home six minutes before half-time after latching on to Gabriel’s knockdown as Arsenal scored from another set-piece.

Arteta told BBC Match of the Day: “A massive win. We knew the difficulty of it. Big credit to Crystal Palace for the way they set up. They made it really difficult for us. We found a way to score against a team really well organised.

“We didn’t score a second goal and when you don’t do that you are in danger. They [Palace] are a super difficult side. We have restricted them to very little.”

The technique is unbelievable from Eze – Arteta

On the match-winner, he added: “The technique is unbelievable. We needed something [special] against a team so well organised.”

Arsenal are in pole position in the table at the end of a weekend in which likely title challengers Liverpool and Manchester City both lost.

The Spaniard added: “It’s very early, we’re still in October. The emotional state is really high but there are a lot of things to get better. Let’s try and recover for Wednesday [Brighton in the EFL Cup].”

Arteta is likely to rotate his squad for the game with the Seagulls especially with William Saliba and Declan Rice both having to go off due to injuries.

Glasner proud of Palace display

Palace were always in the game but offered very little going forward, registering just one shot on target.

It’s now four games without a win in all competitions for the Eagles but boss Oliver Glasner was upbeat afterwards.

He told Sky Sports: “It’s a mixture of frustration about the result and being proud of the performance, especially in the first half. You cannot give Arsenal anything.

“It’s a silly foul and we gave them the second shot with Ebs [Eze], and we know he has a good shot.

“We tried everything. It shows our progress when we are upset with losing 1-0 here. We are still missing a little bit. Mikel Arteta is doing such a great job. It’s about us being a bit better in every single phase. When you get two or three chances, you need to score.”