Eberechi Eze scored his first Premier League goal for Arsenal, as the leaders secured a 1-0 victory over his former club Crystal Palace at Emirates Stadium.
Eze, who joined Arsenal from Palace in August, produced the decisive moment of quality in an otherwise uneventful first half, volleying home from inside the penalty area.
Palace had limited Arsenal to few openings before the break, but the hosts could have extended their lead after it, with Gabriel Magalhaes and Declan Rice both going close.
That profligacy may have come back to bite Arsenal, but Palace were unable to punish Mikel Arteta’s team, who are four points clear at the top of the table.
Palace, meanwhile, slip to 10th, having collected just one point from the last nine available.
How the match unfolded
Jean-Philippe Mateta provided a useful outlet on the counter-attack in a cagey first half. The Frenchman used his strength to hold off William Saliba, before releasing the in-form Daniel Munoz, whose strike was well saved by David Raya.
Arsenal, however, broke the deadlock in the 39th minute, once again showcasing their set-piece prowess. Gabriel challenged for a cross, and when the loose ball dropped kindly to Eze, he acrobatically guided it into the bottom-right corner.
Arsenal maintained their pressure after the interval with Gabriel striking the crossbar, before Rice saw Dean Henderson keep out his fierce drive on the line, and Bukayo Saka curled wide from distance.
Gabriel continued to trouble Palace’s defence, lofting a superbly weighted pass in behind for Leandro Trossard, whose nudge across goal was intercepted before it could reach Saka.
Viktor Gyokeres then headed wide, from a Rice corner, but Arsenal’s failure to add a second goal ultimately did not prove costly.
Eze shines as imperious Gabriel leads from the back
Palace might have hoped for an off day from their former talisman Eze, but instead he produced the game’s one moment of genuine class in an otherwise scrappy contest.
After Palace failed to clear Rice’s delivery, Eze still had plenty to do, showing agility and composure to connect sweetly with his finish.
While Eze proved the difference on the scoresheet, Arsenal’s outstanding performer was Gabriel, who excelled throughout — particularly after Saliba was withdrawn at half-time.
In addition to marshalling Arsenal’s backline, Gabriel was a constant threat going forward, especially from set-pieces. Having played a role in Eze’s goal, he came within inches of scoring himself, when denied by the woodwork. He was also lurking just behind Gyokeres as the forward met Rice’s corner soon after.
Gabriel even collided with the post in that sequence, but recovered to make a crucial intervention in the 79th minute, preventing Mateta from getting on the end of Eddie Nketiah’s cross.
If Arsenal — who face Brighton & Hove Albion in the EFL Cup before travelling to Burnley next week — are to mount a genuine title challenge, Gabriel will undoubtedly be key at both ends of the pitch like he was here.
Palace’s bright start beginning to fade
Palace entered the October international break having suffered their first defeat since April, and though they rescued a 3-3 draw with Bournemouth last week, their early-season momentum appears to be stalling.
A 1-0 home defeat to AEK Larnaca in the UEFA Conference League on Thursday further dented their confidence, and despite flashes of quality here — particularly in the first half and during a late spell of possession — Oliver Glasner’s side rarely looked like truly testing Raya.
By that stage, Arsenal could easily have been out of sight given the near-misses from Gabriel and Rice early in the second half.
There is no need for Glasner to make wholesale changes, but Palace have now lost both league matches following Conference League fixtures, suggesting the Thursday-Sunday turnaround remains a challenge.
It hardly helped that their former favourite Eze came back to haunt them, and Palace must now look to rebound when they host Brentford next week. Before that, however, they face Liverpool in the EFL Cup — a side they have already beaten twice this season, in the Community Shield and the Premier League.
Club reports
Arsenal report | Crystal Palace report
What the managers said
Mikel Arteta: "I'm really happy because we knew the difficulty of the match. It was a crucial win against a good side. Today we were clinical and defensively excellent. No one really generates big chances against them with the way they set up.
"They [players] earned it. The way they compete and play, the way they want to win, it's amazing. The five [substitutes] that came on today made a big difference again. You see the other results in the Premier League...you have to be so good to win."
Oliver Glasner: "It's a mixture of frustration about the result and being proud of the performance, especially in first half. You cannot give Arsenal anything.
"It's a silly foul and we gave them the second shot with Ebs [Eberechi Eze], and we know he has a good shot.
"We tried everything. It shows our progress when we are upset with losing 1-0 here. We are still missing a little bit. Mikel Arteta is doing such a great job. It's about us being a bit better in every single phase. When you get two or three chances, you need to score."
Next PL fixtures
Key facts
Arsenal have now gone 100 matches in all competitions without conceding three goals in a game, with Luton being the last side to score that many against them in December 2023 (Arsenal won 4-3). The Gunners are the second English league side to go 100+ games without shipping three, joining Manchester United who achieved this feat between October 2016 and August 2018 (107).
Since the start of the 2022/23 Premier League season, Arsenal have picked up 90 points in London derby games (W27 D9 L3), 24 more than any other side. Palace have lost 19 derbies in that time, with only West Ham losing more (24).
Arsenal have 22 points from nine Premier League games this season (W7 D1 L1), the seventh time they’ve had 22 or more points at this stage. In the previous six, the only time they went on to lift the title was in 2003/04 (23 points after nine games).
Palace have lost back-to-back away Premier League matches – they only lost two in total across their previous 18 away games combined (W9 D7 L2).