Arteta Hails Palace Triumph As Arsenal’s Most Important Win Yet

‎Mikel Arteta described Arsenal’s 1-0 triumph over Crystal Palace as the most crucial win of the season after widening their lead at the top of the Premier League to four points.

‎The afternoon at the Emirates was tense, with Eberechi Eze unleashing a powerful shot in the first half against his old club to seal the result.

‎While Liverpool endured a fourth consecutive league defeat at Brentford on Saturday, Arsenal ended the weekend seven points ahead of the defending champions.

‎“I told the boys that I value this victory more than any other victory this season,” Arteta said.

‎“We knew the difficulty of it after playing every three days. It was also a significant opportunity, given the events that occurred over the weekend.

‎“But I knew we were playing against a team who have, in my opinion, been one of the best in terms of organisation and how frustrated they can make you. The moment you lose concentration they will punish you.”

‎Manchester City, after a 1-0 loss at Aston Villa on Sunday, finds itself six points behind Arsenal. Arteta was keen, however, to pour cold water on any title talk.

‎“We are where we are,” he said.

‎“It’s a credit to us, because we’ve been very, very consistent knowing the difficulty of every match as well. It is early and doesn’t mean anything other than, ‘let’s keep doing a lot of things like we’re doing really well.’ But there are things to improve to give us better margins.”

‎Eze’s strike was his first Premier League goal since arriving from Crystal Palace for £67.5m in August.

‎“He did it very similarly last year, but against us,” Arteta said smiling.

‎“We know that against a team that defends with so many bodies, it doesn’t allow any space, you have to generate chaos or open spaces to generate big chances. He took the goal really well.”

‎Arteta could not confirm the extent of the injuries that forced off William Saliba and Declan Rice. The substitute Gabriel Martinelli was also “a bit uncomfortable” by the end.

‎“We didn’t give them a lot,” said Palace’s manager, Oliver Glasner.

“But we made two mistakes and got punished. That’s why we lost.”