Abarchi Eze scored against his old club as Arsenal extended their lead at the top of the Premier League with a 1-0 win over Crystal Palace at the Emirates.
Eze scored from another Arsenal free-kick six minutes before the break with a sumptuous half-volley before Gabriel hit the post in the second half as Arsenal sealed their seventh straight win.
Palace failed to get a shot on target against an Arsenal side that has now conceded just three times in 13 games so far. Arsenal’s clean sheet here was their fifth in a row.
A spectacular performance from Mikel Arteta’s men was far from expected, but the victory moved them four points clear of second-placed Bournemouth and six ahead of Manchester City after a 1-0 defeat at Aston Villa.
Liverpool, the defending champions, have more points than the pace of the title.
Arsenal scored four times in 14 second-half minutes during a riot against Atletico Madrid in the Champions League earlier this week. But on Sunday, they needed 33 minutes to register their first strike.
Victor Giocres, fresh from his blistering double against Atlético, did well past Maxence Lacroix and held the ball up before teeing up Declan Rice. Rice found Leandro Trussard but the Belgian’s first touch caught the ball at his feet and his next shot was straight at the Palace keeper.
Speaking ahead of Sunday’s game, Arteta revealed that a decade ago he laid out his master plan to turn Arsenal into station kings.
On Tuesday night, Arsenal became the first team in Europe’s top five leagues to score 10 goals from free kicks this season, making it 11 in the 39th minute.
Striker Rice was met from the right by Gabriel at the far post, and who but Eze was on hand to head home a delicious half-volley to give his new employers the lead.
There were no celebrations from Eze against the club he has spent five years at, but it was a much-needed League One strike in seven tries for the England international – with manager Thomas Tuchel on the Emirates staff – and Arsenal’s 38th set-piece goal in the league since the start of the 2023-24 campaign.
Five minutes passed in the second period and the goalpost prevented Arsenal from increasing to 39. Rice played back-and-forth with Eze from a dead ball before his left-footed cross met Gabriel, but the Brazilian’s header went wide.
Rice was there to follow up but Henderson stopped his shot with an outstretched hand. Saka’s trademark long shot went wide with his left foot.
Arsenal continued to dominate possession, but with their lead just one point, Oliver Glasner’s men always remained in the contest.
However, Arsenal’s back line has only been broken by one team – Manchester City – from free play this season, and indeed the south Londoners rarely looked like finishing second despite a more nervy final than expected.
The only sour notes on another day of victory for Arsenal in their pursuit of a first league title in 22 years came with injuries to William Saliba and Rice. The former was replaced in the interval, while the latter was discontinued in the final stages.
