On Sunday afternoon, Arsenal easily defeated Crystal Palace, which was playing without a manager and without a win, 4-1 at home to increase their advantage atop the Premier League standings to eight points.
Even though Sporting CP knocked the Arsenal from the Europa League on Thursday, they shown no signs of hangover against managerless London rivals Palace.
At Emirates Stadium, Gabriel Martinelli’s 13th league goal of the year gave Arsenal the lead, and Saka, who assisted on that goal, scored a second before halftime.
After Palace managed to get one back through Jeffrey Schlupp, Granit Xhaka put the game out of reach, and Saka’s second goal ensured a sixth straight league victory.
Wilfried Zaha, who cut onto his right foot and unleashed a low effort that hit the post in a lively start for Palace, was sent in by Schlupp, giving Arsenal an early concern.
At the other end, Joe Whitworth stopped Saka, but he was unable to save Martinelli’s stunning drilled strike into the bottom-right corner of the net.
Just before halftime, Saka increased Arsenal’s advantage by passing to Ben White and coolly curled the ball away from Whitworth.
Ten minutes into the second half, Xhaka’s bundled goal following Leandro Trossard’s pass put Palace farther down.
The visitors’ supporters had cause to celebrate following Schlupp’s effort from six yards after Arsenal failed to deal with a corner, but Saka’s crisp first-time finish ensured a comfortable victory.
