Nothing short of a win will help Arsenal now in their pursuit of Premier League title.
Chelsea and Liverpool are soaring, but even with Manchester City looking out of contention, the Gunners have to be perfect.
They have been far from that in recent weeks though, dropping four points to Fulham and Everton in the last two weekends.
Well, one weekend when the boss Mikel Arteta celebrated five years in charge of Arsenal, they gave him the perfect gift with a 5-1 win at Selhurst Park, beating Crystal Palace for the second time this week.
A few days ago the north London side defeated their rivals in the Carabao Cup but this victory arguably had more meaning given their performances in the league in recent weeks.
Like he was at the Emirates on a Wednesday afternoon, Gabriel Jesus he was the hero once again.
The appearance of Gabriel Jesus against Crystal Palace
What a week this has been for the Brazilian striker. Against Palace in midweek, the former Manchester City star scored a top-flight hat-trick and scored his first goals at home in just over a year.
Still waiting his first Premier League goal since Januarybut that came on Saturday when Jesus put on another scintillating display.
Kai Havertz, Gabriel Martinelli and Declan Rice also got on the scoresheet, but it was Jesus who stole the show, scoring the opener with a neat finish from around six yards.
His second goal was an even better strike. Following a corner, Thomas Partey put possession into the path of the Brazil international, who wrapped a leg around the ball and hammered past Dean Henderson.
This has been a landmark week for Jesus and with Bukayo Saka forced off with a back injury in the first half, the importance of his contribution in the final third will only increase.
He probably could have had more than two, as the 27-year-old hit the post that led to Havertz’s goal and then laid a simple one-on-one chance straight at Henderson in the same phase of the match that Martinelli found. clear of.
It was another excellent performance, but the same cannot be said for a player at the back.
Performance in numbers
Want data and statistics? Football FanCast’s Performance in Numbers series brings you the latest match analysis from across Europe.
Saliba’s performance in numbers against Crystal Palace
In recent years, William Saliba he has become known as one of the best central defenders in the league. He is the natural heir to Van Dijk as the Premier League’s leading centre-half.
Just a few days ago, he was celebrated as one of the best in the entire world, with FIFA’s The Best award selecting him among the Team of the Year.
Kylian Mbappe even suggested the defender he should have been the French player of 2024considering his impeccable performances for club and country.
As such, his performance at Selhurst Park on Saturday night was rather complicated with that in mind, with Sky Sports commentator Jamie Carragher summing it up well by saying he had an “awful first 20 minutes”.
Because of Saliba, Arsenal could well have conceded twice in those moments. For Ismaila Sarr’s equaliser, the Frenchman dropped back and failed to get close enough to the Palace striker, who was allowed to unleash David Raya under very little pressure from the Gunners defence.
Minutes later the defender almost cost Arteta’s men a second goal. Saliba was caught in possession by Sarr, who then slipped to Jean-Philippe Mateta.
Scorer against the north Londoners just a few days ago in the Carabao Cup, he dropped his lines here, allowing Raya to come out and smother the striker’s excellent chance to score.
An error from Saliba is rare, but getting two in one game is almost unheard of. Truth be told, it was probably his worst half for the club to date, with GOAL giving him a 4/10 match rating after the full-time whistle.
The numbers didn’t paint the prettiest picture of his night either.
|
Saliba vs Crystal Palace |
|
|---|---|
|
Minutes played |
98 |
|
touches |
116 |
|
Accurate passes |
100/105 (95%) |
|
Clearances |
4 |
|
Wiretapping |
1 |
|
Tackling |
0 |
|
Long balls |
1/2 |
|
Ground duels won |
1/4 |
|
Aerial duels won |
1/1 |
|
Possession lost |
8x |
|
Dribbling success |
1/3 |
|
Statistics via Sofascore. |
|
Indeed, Saliba did not make a successful tackle throughout the game and he won only one of his four ground duelsa stat that sums up just how strange the Frenchman has been this weekend.
With matches coming thick and fast over the festive period, Arsenal will need to rediscover their ability to keep clean sheets again. An updated Saliba – not the one they got on Saturday – will be key to that.
