Mikel Arteta urged his players to return in form and hungry to continue from the international break Arsenal‘S Premier League title proposal.
The Gunners sit at the top of the table by eight points after a simple 4-1 win against the no-managers. Crystal Palace At the Emirates Stadium.
Bukayo Saka He was featured once again scoring two goals and preparing the opening for Gabriel Martinelli, becoming the first Premier League player to hit double digits for both goals and assists this season.
It’s been four years since he cursed his own fans when his change in this match was applauded, and Granit Xhaka’s good season resumed when he returned home for the third time after hiatus.
Palace, which fired former Arsenal captain Patrick Vieira from his post of boss on Friday, at least made it onto the score sheet as Jeffrey Schlupp’s second-half consolation from foster boss Paddy McCarthy finished an almost seven-hour run without a score.
As England begins their Euro 2024 qualifying round against Italy and Ukraine, Saka is now one of the few players to go on an international mission.
Gabriel Jesus had to undergo knee surgery following a World Cup injury and at such a critical stage of the campaign, Arteta will continue his international conditional return unscathed.
“I want to think positively. Touch the board but I want to think positively,” he said. “They’re going to have to play games, they have to do it like they did here or probably better in their own country.
“We are in contact with all of them, they know how to take care of them and I hope everything will be alright. (My message) is that they really take care of themselves during this period. We will take care of the players who are here with us.
We have faith and desire to do that this year and nothing can stop us.
Bukayo Saka
“They came back with the previous mentality and hunger to go to Leeds, which is the only important game right now. We know.”
Despite being knocked out of the Europa League in a loss to Sporting Lisbon three days ago, Saka has admitted that he will continue to give his best as the team returns to their winning path.
“Of course we are human and we get tired,” he said. “Sometimes it’s hard, but in the end, the reward is worth giving everything, giving all our energy.
“Sometimes today after playing 120 minutes you can feel and see the fatigue in our body and after three days you have to come back to play here.
But we have faith and desire to do that this year and nothing can stop us. Especially not that we are tired.”
Palace remained in relegation battle as Paddy McCarthy took over the Eagles for the first time since Vieira was sacked Friday morning.
They failed to score league victories in 2023 and Schlupp’s goal finished nearly seven hours of the run goalless.
“It was intense,” McCarthy admitted.
“You are being mobilized and you have two days. The boys gave their all and I can’t blame their efforts. A wonderful group of young people, wonderful people, and I definitely believe they are more than enough to get themselves out of this situation.
“There’s a lot to take out, we’ve coached their goalie a few times. We started well and had two clear positions at the start of the game. There were definitely a lot of positive things, you could see the struggle in the team and they were advancing and they were putting pressure on him.”