Arsenal 1-0 Crystal Palace – another controlled display keeps Gunners title charge on track

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·26 October 2025

Arsenal 1-0 Crystal Palace – another controlled display keeps Gunners title charge on track

Arsenal made it seven wins in a row with a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Crystal Palace at the Emirates Stadium. It might not have been a goal fest, but it was another display of control, organisation and defensive maturity from Mikel Arteta’s side.

The Gunners dominated possession from the start, though Palace held them back, absorbing wave after wave of pressure. Declan Rice and Martin Zubimendi dictated the tempo in midfield while Viktor Gyökeres kept the visitors’ defence busy with his movement and strength. Arsenal’s early dominance was rewarded midway through the first half when Bukayo Saka’s cross created chaos in the box and led to Eberechi Eze scoring the opener with a great volley.

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Mosquera’s maturity shines through

Palace struggled to build any rhythm as Arsenal dictated possession, but there was concern before the interval when William Saliba appeared to pick up a knock. Arteta replaced him at half-time with Cristhian Mosquera, and the teenager rose to the occasion with a calm, confident performance beside Gabriel Magalhães.

The second half began at a blistering pace, Arsenal striking the bar and peppering the Palace goal before Arteta made attacking changes, bringing on Gabriel Martinelli for Saka on 65 minutes. Shortly after, Rice’s corner found Gabriel, whose header flashed wide before he crashed into the post.

Gabriel (Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images)

Arsenal control the closing stages

Calafiori tested the Palace keeper soon after, but Arsenal’s control was briefly disrupted when Rice went down injured. He was replaced by Merino, with Hincapié also introduced for Calafiori. Arteta’s reshuffle restored order as the Gunners saw out the game professionally.

Palace rarely threatened, limited to hopeful breaks that were easily managed by Arsenal’s disciplined back line. Eberechi Eze made way late on for Myles Lewis-Skelly as Arteta gave another academy graduate valuable minutes.

Six minutes of added time were calmly navigated as Arsenal secured another clean sheet and another vital win in their title charge. It was controlled, composed, and exactly what champions do – find a way to win even when it’s tight.

Tell me, Gooners – was that the mark of champions, or should we have finished them off earlier?

Michelle M

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