LONDON: The international break has come at the wrong time for Arsenal. It interrupts their momentum after the Premier League leaders flew eight points clear ahead of Manchester City with a decisive 4:0 home win over managerless Crystal Palace.

Victory was their sixth in a row in the league, a perfect response to the 3-1 home loss to City on February 15.

Manager Mikel Arteta was happy with both victory and performance after the shootout elimination by Sporting Lisbon in the Europa League. He will not be so happy at the thought of what might happen to any of his players on international duty before the resumption at home to Leeds on April 1.

Gabriel Martinelli, who missed a penalty against Sporting, opened the scoring with his sixth goal in six league matches and 13th of the season. Bukayo Saka doubled the lead on a Ben White assist and Leondro Trossard set up a third for Granit Xhaka. Jeffrey Schlupp pulled one back with Palace’s first goal in five matches before Saka restored Arsenal’s three-goal advantage with his own 13th goal of term.

Arteta said: “I’m really pleased with the energy, the determination and the way we controlled the game. It was tough after playing 120 minutes in the week. I wondered how the team would react but they reacted brilliantly and the crowd, too.

“We have responded positively to having important players out all through the season. Gabriel Jesus was out for four months, Emile Smith Rowe out for four and a half months, Kiernan Tierney, Thomas Partey, Eddie Nketiah out for two and a half months, now William Saliba and Takehiro Tomiyasu.

“There have been moments when he have had only 14 or 15 players but everyone is willing to put their bodies on the line. To stay at the top you have to do that at all times.”

This was Palace’s first match since sacking ex-Arsenal captain Patrick Vieira in midweek after a 1:0 defeat by Brighton. The Frenchman had been appointed in July 2021 in succession to Roy Hodgson.

Palace last won on December 31, by 2-0 at Bournemouth before a league run of no wins, five draws and seven defeats. They also lost at home to Southampton in the third round of the FA Cup. Under-21s coach Paddy McCarthy took charge against Arsenal.

Hodgson, 75-year-old ex-England manager, is favourite to return as caretaker for a tough April programme in which Palace face six of their relegation rivals – Leicester, Leeds, Southampton, Everton, Wolves and West Ham.

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