Ugly win, beautiful goal. The history books will record that Eberechi Eze decided Arsenal’s tough, tense 1–0 win over his old club Crystal Palace with a goal in the 39th minute. That’s all that matters to Arsenal fans, one goal, three points and their lead at the top of the Premier League extended to four points.
League campaigns are very rarely beauty parades; they are about grinding out wins in the competitive elite English division where mid-table teams like Palace cause problems.
Eze’s goal, his first for Arsenal in the Premier League, could have been a scrappy tap-in for all their fans cared. It came from another dead-ball, cementing Arsenal’s reputation in the eyes of their rivals as . It’s meant to mock them, to suggest that Arsenal simply rely on free kicks and corners. Arsenal fans will shrug and smile and point to the table. They’ve not won the title in 21 years. The end justifies any functional means.
It was all about securing the right result, especially with champions Liverpool losing their authority and losing games, the latest at Brentford, and also Manchester City slipping up at Aston Villa.
