Eze gives Arsenal a 'magic moment' to sink old club Palace

LONDON -- These are the "magic moments" Mikel Arteta spoke of. That was how the Arsenal boss once described what Eberechi Eze could bring to his team and Sunday's 1-0 win over Crystal Palace was the day that prediction became a reality.

If there was one team who didn't need a reminder of the 27-year-old's talents, it was Palace. His five years at Selhurst Park climaxed with the winning goal in last season's FA Cup final, a dramatic intervention to settle a hard-fought game with a solitary goal.

But they were on the wrong end of it this time. Declan Rice swung over a 39th-minute free kick and the loose ball fell to Eze, who volleyed expertly into the corner; Palace goalkeeper Dean Henderson did not move.

In a further twist of irony, the goal bore hallmarks of Eze's strike for Palace in last season's corresponding fixture: a 2-2 draw which did so much damage to Arsenal's Premier League title charge. Six months on and he produced the decisive contribution which sent Arsenal four points clear at the summit.

Was it, perhaps, a precise example of those "magic moments" Arteta identified in their £67.5 million acquisition?

"Yes, 100%," Arteta said afterwards. "To strike the ball in the manner he did it. He did it very similarly last year but against us when he scored from that corner and directly on the post.

"So he's got the ability to do that. We know against a team that defend with that many bodies, so physical, don't allow any space, the No. 9 defending your best player, you have to generate chaos or open space at some moments to generate big chances. He took the ball and the goal really well.

"That's what big players do and he's certainly a big player and hopefully that's going to give him a big boost and confidence to generate many more moments like this, because they are the moments that sometimes defines a season."

The importance of those magic moments cannot be overstated given Arsenal's pragmatic pursuit of glory, founded on resilient defending and a set-piece prowess that continues to be ruthlessly efficient.

Somewhat inevitably, another dead-ball situation was involved. The whole situation was eminently avoidable from Palace's perspective. Given almost anyone with even a passing interest in the sport knows of Arsenal's set-piece record, Yeremy Pino's decision to foul Bukayo Saka about 50 yards from goal when he was going nowhere was particularly idiotic.

It ultimately gave Eze the platform to deliver and he seemed in two minds whether to celebrate against his old club, eventually deciding to embark on a subdued version of his usual celebration in recognition of his Christian faith.

"When you give Eberechi Eze a free shot in the area, very often it is a goal," Palace boss Oliver Glasner said, with perhaps a degree of ruefulness in his voice. "We benefited from this situation quite often last year."

What followed was a repeat of what has gone before. Arsenal defended resolutely and their main threat continued to come from balls into the box, specifically corners as Gabriel Magalhães hit the crossbar with a header and then the post with a part of his body he would surely have preferred to protect.

Before the game, explaining how well Palace were coping without Eze, Glasner pointed to his team sitting top of the expected goals (xG) table heading into this weekend. Their xG figure of 19.1 was well clear of next-best Manchester United (16.51), but here they managed just 0.47 and only one shot on target, when substitute Eddie Nketiah forced goalkeeper David Raya into action in the 70th-minute.

Chalk up 385 minutes without conceding for Arsenal now, a feat made more impressive by the fact they lost center back William Saliba to injury at half-time and handed a late debut to new arrival Piero Hincapié at left back, among various changes.

Rice was also forced off late on with a knock he originally picked up in the first half, but almost each week the Gunners rack up a new defensive milestone: this time they have now gone 100 games in all competitions without conceding more than two goals.

Despite scoring the goal which condemned his former team to defeat, Eze was still applauded off the field by Palace fans. He is perhaps yet to truly ignite his Arsenal career after what was a subdued display aside from the goal, but his contribution underlined the benefits of the squad depth the Gunners have added this summer.

In his 13th appearance, Eze scored his first league goal to add to three assists including one against Atletico Madrid in midweek. His influence does appear to be growing.

Eze rang Arteta directly to ask whether Arsenal would pursue a move for him with Tottenham close to finalising a deal. This time Eze answered the call from Arteta to make this an afternoon which could feel particularly important come May.

"We are where we are," said Arteta when the six-point advantage over Manchester City and seven-point lead over Liverpool was pointed out. "It's a credit to us because we've been very, very consistent, but knowing the difficulty of every match as well. So it really doesn't mean anything other than let's keep doing a lot of things that we're doing really well."