Eze Sinks Former Club as Arsenal Go Four Points Clear Thanks to Set-Piece Brilliance
Arsenal extended their lead at the top of the Premier League table to four points after securing a narrow, if unconvincing, 1-0 victory over Crystal Palace at the Emirates.
On a day when former Gunners legend George Graham watched from the stands, the familiar 1-0 scoreline was delivered, marking Arsenal's tenth clean sheet in 13 matches. The decisive goal came from a set-piece—Arsenal's eleventh this season—delivered by Declan Rice, a player whose tenacious style would have been admired by Graham.
The goalscorer, however, was a figure of irony: Eberechi Eze, the $\text{\textsterling}60$ million summer signing from South London, netted his first Premier League goal for Arsenal against his former club, Crystal Palace.
Despite the unconvincing performance, manager Mikel Arteta secured the vital three points. The Gunners' opening 45 minutes were described as "awful," with David Raya facing only his second shot on target in over five hours of football midway through the first half. Palace made life difficult throughout, forcing Arteta to finish the game with a five-man defense.
For Oliver Glasner's Palace side, the loss marks their third defeat in four matches following a strong start to the season. Despite the defeat, Palace defended impressively and will take heart from their performance, particularly given Arsenal had two extra days of rest after Palace played AEK Larnaca in the Conference League on Thursday.
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