Saved by Jesus: Arsenal were let down by "awful" 116-touch star at Palace

[ad_1] Nothing however a win will do for Arsenal now of their pursuit of the Premier League title.

Chelsea and Liverpool are hovering excessive however even with Manchester Metropolis seemingly now out of the race, the Gunners must be excellent.

They've been removed from that in current weeks, nonetheless, dropping 4 factors in opposition to Fulham and Everton during the last two weekends.

Properly, on a weekend when boss Mikel Arteta celebrated 5 years in control of Arsenal, they gave him the proper current with a rampant 5-1 win at Selhurst Park, defeating Crystal Palace for the second time this week.

Simply days in the past the north London facet defeated their London rivals within the Carabao Cup however this victory arguably had larger which means given their performances within the league over the previous few weeks.

Like he was on the Emirates on Wednesday night, Gabriel Jesus was the hero as soon as once more.

Gabriel Jesus’ efficiency vs Crystal Palace What per week this has been for the Brazilian striker. Towards Palace in midweek, the previous Man Metropolis star scored a first-class hat-trick and grabbed his first targets at house for simply over a 12 months.

He was nonetheless awaiting his first Premier League aim since January, however that got here on Saturday when Jesus delivered one other scintillating show.

Kai Havertz, Gabriel Martinelli and Declan Rice additionally obtained on the scoresheet however it was Jesus who stole the present, scoring the opener with a neat end from round six yards out.

His second aim was a fair higher strike. Following a nook, Thomas Partey laid possession into the trail of the Brazil worldwide who wrapped his foot across the ball and hammered it previous Dean Henderson.

This has been a landmark week for Jesus and with Bukayo Saka cruelly going off with a hamstring harm within the first half, the significance of his contributions within the last third will solely be elevated.

He fairly probably may have had greater than two as effectively with the 27-year-old putting the publish which led to Havertz’s aim after which sticking a easy one-on-one probability straight at Henderson in the identical part of play that Martinelli discovered the online from.

It was one other good efficiency however the identical can't be stated of 1 man on the again.

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Efficiency in Numbers

Need knowledge and stats? Soccer FanCast's Efficiency in Numbers sequence supplies you with the most recent match evaluation from throughout Europe.

Saliba’s efficiency in numbers vs Crystal Palace Over the previous few years, William Saliba has been referred to as top-of-the-line central defenders within the league. He's the pure inheritor to Van Dijk because the Premier League’s foremost centre-half.

Just a few days in the past, he was celebrated as top-of-the-line in the complete world too, with FIFA’s The Greatest award deciding on him amongst their Workforce of the 12 months.

Kylian Mbappe even steered the defender ought to have been France’s Participant of 2024, given his impeccable shows for membership and nation.

Subsequently, his efficiency at Selhurst Park on Saturday night was relatively perplexing with that in thoughts, with Jamie Carragher commentating on Sky Sports activities summing issues up effectively by suggesting he had an “terrible first 20 minutes”.

Due to Saliba, Arsenal may effectively have conceded twice inside these moments. For Ismaila Sarr’s equaliser, the Frenchman backtracked and did not get shut sufficient to the Palace ahead who was allowed to fireplace previous David Raya beneath little or no strain from the Gunners' defence.

Simply minutes later the defender nearly value Arteta’s males a second aim. Saliba obtained caught in possession by Sarr who then slipped in Jean-Philippe Mateta.

A scorer in opposition to the north Londoners just some days earlier than within the Carabao Cup, he fluffed his strains right here, permitting Raya to return out and smother the striker’s good probability to attain.

One mistake from Saliba is a rarity however to get two in a single sport is nearly unprecedented. Reality be advised, it was maybe his worst half for the membership but, with GOAL handing him a 4/10 match ranking following the full-time whistle.

The numbers did not paint the prettiest image of his night both.

Saliba vs Crystal Palace

Minutes performed

98

Touches

116

Correct passes

100/105 (95%)

Clearances

4

Interceptions

1

Tackles

0

Lengthy balls

1/2

Floor duels received

1/4

Aerial duels received

1/1

Possession misplaced

8x

Dribble success

1/3

Stats through Sofascore.

Certainly, Saliba did not make a profitable sort out all sport and solely received considered one of his 4 floor duels, a statistic that summed up how out of kinds the Frenchman was this weekend.

With matches coming thick and quick over the festive interval, Arsenal might want to rediscover their knack for holding clear sheets once more. An in-form Saliba - not the one they obtained on Saturday - shall be key to that.