Caretaker manager Paddy McCarthy was full of praise for a dominant Arsenal as Mikel Arteta’s Premier League leaders extended their advantage at the top to eight points with a 4-1 win at the Emirates, speaking to the Crystal Palace website.
With Manchester City on FA Cup duty, Arsenal seized an opportunity to widen the gap between themselves and second-place with a comfortable victory over a side who sacked their former captain – the legendary Patrick Vieira – some 48 hours earlier.
The outstanding Bukayo Saka scored twice while Granit Xhaka maintained his excellent recent form in front of goal. There was also a morale-boosting finish from Gabriel Martinelli; the Brazilian putting that Europa League penalty miss against Sporting Lisbon behind him.
Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal beat Crystal Palace 4-1 at the Emirates
“(Arsenal) are at the top of the league for a reason,” McCarthy says. “They’re well-organised. They’ve got bundles of athleticism, good attacking quality all over the park. They seem to come up with solutions whichever way you try to stop them.”
Crystal Palace did have their moments. Wilfried Zaha, against his boyhood club, dragged a great chance wide after Jeffrey Schlupp had pulled the scoreline back to 2-1 midway through the second half.
“I think even at 3-1, the boys showed good character, resilience and robustness to keep going,” McCarthy adds. “And we had that chance with Wilfried just before they went up and scored that fourth goal.
“Maybe defensively we didn’t quite deal with their attacking threats well enough today. But they cause everybody problems and make it difficult for most teams they come up against.”
Saka’s brace, plus his assist for Martinelli’s early stunner, means he is the first player in this Premier League season to hit double figures for both goals and assists. That is 12 and ten now. A man who – Erling Haaland aside – must be the favourite for the division’s Player of the Year award.
“It’s difficult to speak after a defeat,” adds Palace veteran Luka Milivojevic. “But today we created some clear-cut chances. But, as well, we need to give credit to this team (Arsenal). This is a very good team we played today. We played against a very good side.
“We tried our best. If we were more clinical in front of this goal, this game could have turned the other way.”
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