Gabriel Jesus had scored two Arsenal goals in the whole of 2024 before his hat-trick against Crystal Palace in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday, but he made it five in four days with two more tonight in a 5-1 Premier League win over them at Selhurst Park.
Ismaila Sarr had equalised for Palace in a frantic opening — the goals coming after six, 11 and 14 minutes — before Kai Havertz added a third Arsenal goal after a Jesus header hit the post on 38 minutes.
Jesus should have had his third when he was denied from seven yards just before the hour but a smart move soon after was eventually finished off by Gabriel Martinelli before Declan Rice, brought on to increase control, curled in an 84th-minute fifth from the corner of the box.
An apparent hamstring injury for Bukayo Saka, suffered in the first half when running at pace, that saw him replaced by Leandro Trossard was the main worry for Arsenal from the game.
Here The Athletic’s Jordan Campbell breaks down the key talking points.
Is Jesus the answer?
Even he looked like he could not quite believe it. After a run of just one goal — against Championship side Preston North End in the Carabao Cup — in 33 Arsenal appearances going back to January, Jesus had just scored his fifth goal for them in less than an hour’s football across successive games.
The way he placed his first-time shot into the top corner showed what a difference confidence can make. The Brazil international has been guilty of overthinking in front of goal, but this was a finish displaying pure mental clarity.
Both his goals against Palace were instinctive finishes from loose balls dropping to him and that is what Arsenal have been missing for the past year: the Gabriel Jesus who plays like a kid in the park, carefree and expressive.
He may have once naively said that goalscoring isn’t his main forte, but the lack of them looked like it had been weighing on him before this week. Since getting the opener in the 2-1 away win against Nottingham Forest on January 30, Jesus had not scored in the Premier League until tonight. Yes, he had been limited to just six starts in that time as Havertz took over as first-choice centre-forward, but it was still an almighty drought for a player of his calibre.
The reason he had dropped out of the team in the first place was that he had faded and his body was failing him.
The Brazilian has had six different injuries since joining from Manchester City in the summer of 2022. Since his blistering first six months, he had not recaptured the form which did so much to turn Arsenal back into title contenders.
Jesus slots in Arsenal’s first goal against Palace (Julian Finney/Getty Images)
The fear was that his knee issues may have taken more of a toll than imagined but the midweek hat-trick against Palace in the Carabao Cup quarter-final could be transformational for Jesus, and Arsenal, if it is the catalyst for him discovering his old self. Jesus has always been a patchy goalscorer but Arsenal could do with him going on a prolific run, especially with Saka potentially now out during a busy part of the season.
How Arteta handles Jesus returning to form is the big question now.
Havertz’s levels had dropped in recent weeks and he was moved back to the left of midfield to cater for Jesus against Palace.
Having both players in the box helped Arsenal cause chaos throughout the match and this was the most dangerous they have looked in some time with an extra attacker in midfield.
Jesus could have scored another twice had he carried on his clinical streak but Arteta will take confidence from the fact he can recognise his South American striker again. Fitting both Havertz and Jesus into the team is his next dilemma.
How worrying is Saka’s injury?
It is a sight we have become used to seeing: Saka down on the ground, needing treatment.
The difference this time was he had not been clattered, pulled or scythed down, nor did he spring to his feet again.
There was nobody near the England winger when he went down clutching the bottom of his right hamstring in the 24th minute. Playing on wasn’t happening here. Trossard was immediately brought on to replace him.
Saka looks in pain after going down holding his right hamstring (Photo: Alex Pantling/Getty Images)
Saka’s powers of recovery over the past few seasons have conditioned us to believe that he is immune to serious muscle injuries. To play over 250 senior games for Arsenal by the age of 23 without having a prolonged lay-off is incredible but there was bound to come a point when his body broke down to some extent.
It remains to be seen how serious this injury actually is but Saka was sprinting at close to full pace when he appeared to have felt the problem in the back of his right thigh. The hopeful part is that he was able to slow and dig out a pass before he called for treatment, but matches against Ipswich, Brentford and Brighton await Arsenal in the next fortnight.
Saka did not play for 17 days in October, also after picking up a hamstring injury, on international duty, sitting out England’s second match of that double-header and two Arsenal games. That is about as long as Arteta has ever had to contemplate without him but if this proves to be a serious injury then he will have to go to the drawing board as Arsenal have still not signed a recognised back-up.
GO DEEPER
Arteta ‘pretty worried’ by Saka hamstring injury
Marquinhos came in from Brazil in 2022 but has been farmed out on loan almost ever since, making his most recent Arsenal appearance in January last year, while Raheem Sterling has failed to make much impact since joining on loan from Chelsea in the summer and also missed the Palace game with a knock.
Martinelli switched to the right flank tonight, which would be the most natural way of replacing Saka.
As he is a right-footer, it would be a major shift in the team’s overall dynamic given how important the relationship between Martin Odegaard and Saka has been but Martinelli showed how he could offer something different when he drove down the outside and delivered a great cross for Havertz’s goal to make it 3-1.
Have Arsenal turned up the heat in the title race?
Again, Arsenal had the opportunity to apply some pressure on their title rivals by virtue of playing before one of Liverpool and Chelsea were able to.
Two weeks ago, they passed up the opportunity away to Fulham, drawing the day after Liverpool’s derby against Everton was postponed and just before Chelsea beat Tottenham. Last weekend, they failed to capitalise once again, drawing 0-0 at home to Everton as Arne Slot’s 10 men dropped two points against Fulham at Anfield and 24 hours ahead of Chelsea defeating visitors Brentford.
They made no mistake at Selhurst Park, racking up the goals and turning what had looked like a difficult test early on into a fun second half.
Victory puts them three points behind leaders Liverpool, albeit having played two games more, and just one behind second-placed Chelsea, who have one match in hand on them. It also finally puts daylight between them and champions Manchester City, who are six points behind them having lost to Aston Villa at lunchtime and look increasingly finished in this title race.
The emphatic nature of tonight’s result is also noteworthy — Arsenal became the first English team to score five or more goals in six away games in a calendar year.
Liverpool are at Tottenham tomorrow and Chelsea go to Goodison, where Everton will be dogged opponents and potentially inspired by their recent takeover, both knowing that Arsenal are breathing down their necks.
Arsenal are the one team of the three with the experience of being in title races over the past two seasons. Liverpool still have some players who got over the line in their 2019-20 battle with City but Arteta’s entire squad have been in this mental zone for two and a half years now.
Completely stress-free victories have been hard to come by for Arsenal this season. Even their 5-2 win over West Ham last month included a mini-crisis as they conceded twice in five minutes late in the first half after going four up.
They allowed an early equaliser against Palace and struggled to play through the home side’s press in the first half. David Raya and William Saliba made sloppy errors which threatened to create more drama, but once again a corner kick helped them regain the lead.
Unusually, they were able to go into half-time with a two-goal cushion and it made a huge difference to their second half as Rice came on and made a big impact, scoring and assisting another.
There does not appear to be a team capable of getting close to perfection in the Premier League this season but Arsenal look like a side who have realised they need to get close to where they were at the start of 2024.
What did Mikel Arteta say?
We will bring you this after he has spoken at the post-match press conference.
What next for Arsenal?
Friday, December 27: Ipswich Town (H), Premier League, 8.15pm GMT, 3.15pm ET
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(Photo: Alex Pantling/Getty Images)