Gabriel Jesus was the scourge of Crystal Palace for the second time in four days as his early brace paved the way for a commanding win for Arsenal at Selhurst Park.
Jesus scored a hat-trick when the two teams met in midweek, and Arsenal won the EFL Cup quarter-final 3-2 at the Emirates Stadium, scoring twice in the first 14 minutes here as the Gunners closed to within three points of leaders Liverpool, albeit at The Merseyside team has two games in hand.
Ismaila Sarr canceled out Jesus' opener but the former Manchester City player quickly scored again and further goals from Kai Havertz, Gabriel Martinelli and Declan Rice sealed an emphatic win.
Arsenal records its biggest win of the season! 👊🔴#CRYARS | #Celebration supplies pic.twitter.com/b2KrMokxJg
— English Premier League (@premierleague) December 21, 2024
The only negative on a night full of positives for Mikel Arteta was Bukayo Saka's injury in the first half which could limit his availability over the festive period.
Jesus has not scored a league goal since January, but is undoubtedly brimming with confidence after his exploits on Wednesday night, where he opened his account after six minutes.
Saka's cross from the right was not cleared and fell to Jesus at the far post and he reacted well to fire a right-foot shot under goalkeeper Dean Henderson.
Palace equalized after 11 minutes with a brilliant move from back to front.
Tyreek Mitchell led the charge, passing the ball to Sarr and taking advantage of poor defending from William Saliba to run unchallenged into the box and fire a stunning shot beyond David Raya's left hand.
Palace equalized for just three minutes, as Arsenal scored again from a corner kick.
A pass from the left wing was not cleared, and after Thomas Partey showed plenty of composure as he passed the ball to Jesus lurking inside the box, the Brazil international calmly shot into the top right corner.
Gabriel Jesus loves scoring against Crystal Palace 🤯
Five goals in a week against the Eagles 💥 pic.twitter.com/Y7mDDmj7nG
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) December 21, 2024
The game showed no sign of slowing down and Palace should have equalized again after 20 minutes of poor play from Saliba.
Sarr sent off the French international and played in Jean-Philippe Mateta, but Raya quickly came out to block the shot.
Saka limped off after 24 minutes, which will be a concern for Arteta but did not disrupt his team's attacking flow.
Jesus was denied by a brilliant challenge from Maxence Lacroix and from the resulting corner, Gabriel headed against the crossbar. The danger was not over yet for the hosts, and after allowing Arsenal to keep the ball, Martinelli sent a cross from the right flank, which Jesus headed to the left post, but Havertz was on hand to put the ball over the goal line.
Gabriel Jesus was prevented from scoring a hat-trick on the post 👀
Kai Havertz picks up the rebound 🙌 pic.twitter.com/jtpQlpAZOa
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) December 21, 2024
Palace came out strong after the break and only two moments of goalkeeping from Raya prevented them from halving the deficit. First, he parried Sarr's header, then made a brilliant double save to deny Mateta a long-range effort and Sarr's follow-up to some extent.
After bringing on Rice and Riccardo Calafiore from the bench, Arsenal secured the points on the hour mark.
Rice's first touch was to fire a shot on target after Jesus was again denied a hat-trick by Henderson's feet and Martinelli was on hand to turn it home.
England midfielder Rice got his name on the scoresheet six minutes before the end of the match, as he fired a powerful shot past Henderson and into the bottom right corner.
It was an impressive win from Arsenal, who host struggling Ipswich on Friday.
