Gabriel Jesus Shines as Arsenal Crush Palace 5-1

Gabriel Jesus scored twice as Arsenal defeated Crystal Palace 5-1 at Selhurst Park, closing the gap to three points behind Premier League leaders Liverpool. Jesus’ brace brought his tally against Palace to five goals in a week having scored a Carabao Cup hat-trick on Wednesday. However, Arsenal suffered a blow when Bukayo Saka limped off in the first half. Arsenal took the lead in the 6th minute when Saka’s deflected cross fell to Jesus, who fired past Dean Henderson.

Palace equalized quickly with Ismaila Sarr curling a beautiful shot into the bottom corner. Arsenal regained the lead three minutes later with Jesus scoring again after Thomas Partey’s assist. Although Gabriel Jesus hit the post with a header, Kai Havertz was on hand to tap in Arsenal’s third before halftime. Both sides had chances in the first half with Jean-Philippe Mateta’s close-range shot saved and Gabriel’s header hitting the bar.

Palace started the second half brightly but couldn’t break down Arsenal’s defense. Gabriel Martinelli diverted Declan Rice’s shot into the net for Arsenal’s fourth, and Rice added a stunning strike for the fifth. Jesus’ performance was crucial with Mikel Arteta’s hopes for the striker’s return to form coming to fruition. Jesus had not scored in the Premier League for almost 11 months but now has seven goals in 2024, five of which came against Palace.

Arsenal has shown signs of returning to their attacking best especially in the past two matches. For Palace, the loss came after a challenging week having played a similar lineup in their midweek EFL Cup defeat. Without injured Eberechi Eze, they tired in the second half leaving them four points clear of the relegation zone ahead of their match at Bournemouth on December 26.