EPL: Arsenal Defeat Crystal Palace To Go Four Points Clear
Arsenal recorded a 1-0 victory over Crystal Palace on Sunday to go four points clear in the Premier League title race as Manchester City suffered a 1-0 defeat to Aston Villa.
Eberechi Eze scored against his former club just before halftime to hand Arsenal the maximum points at the Emirates Stadium.
Declan Rice’s free kick was knocked down by Gabriel before Eze produced an acrobatic finish to break the deadlock.
The Gunners held on to seal a vital victory which solidified their place on top of the log with four points clear of second-placed Bournemouth.
Arsenal’s coach, Mikel Arteta praised the players for their battling performance to secure the maximum points.
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He said: “I’m really happy because we knew the difficulty of the match. It was a crucial win against a good side. Today we were clinical and defensively excellent. No one really generates big chances against them with the way they set up.
“They (players) earned it. The way they compete and play, the way they want to win, it’s amazing. The five [substitutes] that came on today made a big difference again. You see the other results in the Premier League…you have to be so good to win.”
Arteta provided an injury update on the likes of William Saliba, Declan Rice and Riccardo Calafiori, who all went off against Crystal Palace due to injuries.
He said: “William Saliba felt some pain. Declan [Rice] was the same. The first one was Willy, he was out from a knock that he took. And Ricci too.
“With Declan I don’t really know because it was a knock, whether it was a calf or an Achilles. Yeah I think [Martinelli is okay]. He said he felt something, we do not know if it is a muscular issue or not.”
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The Gunners face Brighton next in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday before travelling to Burnley in the league next weekend.
Meanwhile, Manchester City suffered a disappointing 1-0 defeat to Aston Villa to end their nine-game unbeaten run.
Matt Cash scored the only goal of the encounter in the 19th minute with a precise left-foot finish from the edge of the box.
The victory moved Aston Villa up to the eighth position on the log with 15 points while Manchester City remained in the fifth position with 16 points.
Aston Villa will return to Premier League action against Liverpool on Saturday while Man City will take on Bournemouth on Sunday.
