Mikel Arteta says the title race is on for Arsenal as they returned to Premier League glory with a 5-1 win over Crystal Palace on Saturday.
Gabriel Jesus scored an early brace either side of Ismaila Sarr's equalizer, before goals from Kai Havertz, Gabriel Martinelli and Declan Rice secured all three points as the Gunners recorded their second win over Palace in a week after also defeating them disabled. the EFL Cup on Wednesday.
Jesus' second goal was in fact Arsenal's 50th Premier League goal from a corner since Nicolas Jover joined the club as permanent coach in 2021, the most of any club in the competition in his time.
It is also the sixth different away match in all competitions in 2024 in which Arteta's side have scored five or more goals, the most ever by a top English club in a single calendar year.
It was a win that lifted Arsenal to third in the table, now just three points behind Liverpool, who have played two games fewer, but Arteta insists his team will continue to push in the title race.
'We certainly want it [the title] but we have to show it for ten months. The demands are unbelievable,” Arteta told Sky Sports.
“To play every three days for 12 to 13 weeks as we are asked to do is absolutely crazy. We are doing our best.
“Unfortunately we lost a number of players today. It happens to every team. We definitely want to try.”
“We're not even half way yet. We're definitely going to try. The time has come for us!”
A minor blemish in the match was Bukayo Saka's withdrawal in the first half, although Arteta says it is too early to know the extent of his problem.
“He felt something. It's too early to judge him. It was a precautionary measure with him at the moment,” the Spaniard told Match of the Day.
Meanwhile, Oliver Glasner lamented his side's missed chances as they succumbed to a second successive defeat to Arsenal.
The Eagles conceded five or more goals in a Premier League home game for the third time before losing 6-1 and 7-0 to Liverpool in August 1994 and December 2020 respectively.
However, Palace had chances with 15 shots, one more than their opponents, as they matched Arsenal's six shots on target, although Glasner's side recorded just 1.72 expected goals (xG), compared to 2.88 for the visitors.
“If you concede five, you're unlikely to get a point!” Glasner told Sky Sports. “But yes, when we were 2-1 down we had a great chance, and before they scored a third goal.
“We had big chances in the second half, and then they scored the fourth and the game was over. We lost faith to come back. But we gave them the goals, and it's not easy to come back.”
“We can take a lot of positive things from the first sixty minutes. We have to defend the penalty area, but everything else is one of our best performances.
“The pressure we gave them, the balls we won, the possession, how we moved the ball and how many chances we created. Of course we will learn from it. We have to learn that when you give the top teams a crumb.” , they're taking the whole pie!”
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