Gabriel Jesus once again stole the show against Crystal Palace as Arsenal got back on track in the Premier League with a 5-1 rout at Selhurst Park.
Having plundered a hat-trick against Palace in a 3-2 victory for the Gunners in the EFL Cup on Wednesday, Jesus was on top form again on Saturday with a first-half double.
Jesus opened the scoring in the sixth minute and put Arsenal back ahead after Ismaila Sarr had restored parity, before the striker’s header off the post set up Kai Havertz to make it 3-1 to the Gunners.
Arsenal had to rely on some sharp goalkeeping from David Raya, who saved well from Jean-Philippe Mateta and Sarr, before Gabriel Martinelli made matters even more comfortable.
Martinelli turned home from Declan Rice’s shot on the hour, just after Jesus had squandered a golden chance for another hat-trick.
Rice capped an excellent cameo with a stunning strike late on, as Arsenal cruised into third, three points behind leaders Liverpool, albeit having played two matches more than the Reds.
6 – Arsenal have scored 5+ goals in six different away games in all competitions in 2024, the most ever by an English top-flight club in a single calendar year. Ruthless. pic.twitter.com/18V19N4byf
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) December 21, 2024
Data Debrief: Jesus tops the Gunners’ tree
Jesus should have had his second hat-trick in the space of two games, but in the build-up to Arsenal’s fourth goal, the former Manchester City striker displayed the kind of finishing that had seen him go on a 23-game scoreless streak in the top flight before this encounter.
However, his shooting boots were firmly on in the opening 15 minutes, while he was unfortunate that the header that led to Havertz prodding in clipped off the post.
Jesus’ stunning second goal came when he whipped home from the edge of the box following a corner. Since set-piece coach Nicolas Jover joined the club as set-piece coach in 2021, Arsenal have scored 50 Premier League goals from corners, the most of any club in the competition in this time.
When Jesus does score, Arsenal should not fear defeat. He has now extended his competition record of never losing when scoring in a Premier League game to 61 games (W56 D5).
While they were pushed hard for the first hour, the Gunners finished off as dominant and deserved victors, registering 2.9 expected goals to Palace’s 1.7 in the process.
