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Arsenal made sure it was a memorable weekend for their supporters as they went four points clear at the top of the Premier League table thanks to a 1-0 victory over Crystal Palace.
After Liverpool were beaten by Brentford on Saturday and Manchester City lost to Aston Villa on Sunday, Mikel Arteta's men didn't let the opportunity slip as Eberechi Eze's stunning first half strike against his former club secured all three points.
The Gunners comfortably saw out the victory and in the process made it an incredible five clean sheets in a row in all competitions.
Daily Mail Sport's ISAAN KHAN was at The Emirates Stadium and he has picked out some key talking points from the clash.
Arsenal beat Crystal Palace 1-0 on Sunday thanks to Eberechi Eze's stunning first half strike
Mikel Arteta's side are now four points clear at the top of the table after another victory
How Arteta can unlock Gyokeres
After his two midweek goals against Atletico Madrid, Viktor Gyokeres’ worrying goalless run had ended.
It was hoped that the spike of confidence generated by that would be the start of a new chapter for Gyokeres.
Against Crystal Palace, the striker, as usual, was hungry to be involved in play. But it was his limited action in and around the area which will have frustrated him.
Some of his runs up field helped bring team-mates into the picture, and his work-rate is always high.
Yet, as seen from his Sporting Lisbon days, Gyokeres thrives most in the box. He didn’t get to do much of this on Sunday, instead making do with possession outside the area and trying to capitalise from there.
It’s an area which Mikel Arteta and Arsenal still need to properly exploit to maximise Gyokeres’ effectiveness.
Facing low block defences makes it more tricky, but Palace weren’t just camped in their own half. They put attacks together in the first period and looked to get on the ball. Adam Wharton was key in possession and gave the Gunners pairing of Martin Zubimendi and Declan Rice a tough game.
But with goals fresh in his mind, now is the time for Gyokeres to capitalise on that.
A midweek Carabao Cup clash against Brighton could prove to be the ideal game to do so.
Viktor Gyokeres put in a good shift again but Arteta must find a way to unlock his goalscoring
Arsenal's set piece machine rolls on
As the Arsenal faithful often sing at the Emirates, ‘Set piece again, ole, ole’.
It was a Declan Rice free-kick, headed down by Gabriel, that teed up Eberechi Eze’s half-volley, which opened the scoring for the Gunners.
The north London club have now netted nine goals from set pieces from nine Premier League matches this season. That ranks them No 1 in the league. Their five goals from open play is 17th in the division.
It’s an insane statistic, reflecting just how well Arsenal have mastered the ploy under set piece coach Nicolas Jover.
Arteta said on Friday how his own expertise in the field has been in the making for the past 10 years, starting in his final season as a player at Arsenal.
Set pieces can’t be sneered at. Their effect is undoubted, earning Arsenal three points here.
Arteta said afterwards: ‘I think they (different scoring methods) all have the same value. We are noticing, obviously, a shift.
‘The moment that physicality increases, methods that are implemented are more efficient and the game is more difficult to play because you can constrain spaces because physically you are better.
Eze's goal came from another set piece. Arsenal have now scored nine times from that method
‘You have to find ways to score in different ways and that's what I think everybody is trying to do.’
A promising takeaway for Arteta is no matter how obvious it is that the Gunners consistently exploit set pieces, their opponents across the league seem to be unable to stop them.
The north London club have devised umpteen ways of scoring from the method, which makes them so ruthless.
Paired with a slew of giants, including the aerial monster that is Gabriel, their set pieces are frightening for opponents and there doesn't look to be an end to their effectiveness any time soon.
The sign showing Arsenal's depth
Prior to kick-off the most daunting name on the Crystal Palace team sheet from an Arsenal perspective was Jean-Philippe Mateta.
The striker is in good form, having struck five goals in eight league appearances heading into Sunday's fixture.
He immediately targeted William Saliba, pinning him back using his size advantage and looking to turn him where possible.
Mateta had success at this in the first half which led to some good Palace play in the attacking third.
Cristhian Mosquera put in another assured performance after replacing William Saliba
Yet, Cristhian Mosquera, who came on for Saliba at half-time, shone. It again reflects the sheer strength in depth Arteta possesses, particularly in the backline.
Mosquera has impressed pretty much every time Arteta has called on him, and at 21, he is still developing.
Aside from Mosquera, there is still Piero Hincapie to properly enter the fold, while Ben White has barely played this season.
Arsenal have incredibly conceded only three goals this season in the league and their defensive depth is forming the bedrock of what looks to be a very promising campaign.
