LONDON – Bukayo Saka scored twice as Arsenal moved eight points ahead in the Premier League with a 4-1 win over Crystal Palace.

– Report: Arsenal beat Palace | Premier League tables

Despite the sacking of manager Patrick Vieira on Friday, just 48 hours before he would face the club he once captained, Palace failed to end their remarkable streak that saw them fail to win a single games in 2023. Arsenal were too strong like Saka (2). , Gabriel Martinelli and Granit Xhaka scored their goals and Jeffrey Schlupp scored in the second half for Palace.

Fast reaction

1. Saka shines as formidable Arsenal keep Manchester City waiting for a miss

Here you have Arsenal, who fell out of the title race after losing to Manchester City. After losing 3-1 to the champions at the Emirates on 15 February, Mikel Arteta’s side have won six consecutive Premier League games and now lead the league table by eight points.

Bukayo Saka inspired the Gunners in their latest win against Crystal Palace by scoring two goals in a first-class match, while the England winger showed the confidence and confidence that now engulfs this Arsenal side.

– Live on ESPN+: FA Cup, La Liga, Bundesliga and more (USA)

After the loss to City and a brief loss of first place, many said that Arsenal had faded into the background and even lost their place to Manchester United, who finished in third place. But after six games (and 18 points), Arsenal have silenced any doubters by avoiding every danger they have come across.

In most title races, even future champions make mistakes in games where you least expect them to lose points. But even though they needed to score decisive late winners against Aston Villa and Bournemouth, Arsenal kept their composure and recorded victories. Every time City thought their title rivals would drop points, Arsenal simply stepped forward and won when needed.

In this case, there was never any doubt that Arsenal would come out on top after Gabriel Martinelli opened the scoring in the 28th minute, which made this victory light-hearted enough. However, an easy win is itself an accomplishment in a title race and Arsenal’s ability to do so will be of increasing concern in the City camp.

The Gunners still have to visit the Etihad next month and also have a difficult trip to Liverpool ahead of them, but with games coming to an end, City need Arsenal to lose soon. However, the good news for Arsenal is that they have no intention of doing so.

2. Arsenal prove they can handle injury

Sunday could be seen as a test of Arsenal’s apparent lack of depth, but they passed it with flying colours.

For the first time in the league this season, manager Mikel Arteta was left without centre-back William Saliba due to a back injury, but Rob Holding stepped in and, along with Gabriel, put on a superb performance. On the right flank, Ben White was superb in the absence of the injured Takehiro Tomiyasu, while Eddie Nketiya with a leg injury held out.

Many questions have been asked of Arsenal this season and the depth of the squad has been cited as one of the recurring issues expected to rob Arsenal of a title shot. But they also endured the three-month absence of striker Gabriel Jesus – now fit and playing again – to maintain their position at the top of the table, so Arteta and his players will now be buoyed by the belief that they are the staff to go all the way.

They also had the likes of Kieran Tierney, Emile Smith Rowe, Reiss Nelson, Fabio Vieira and Jorginho on their bench against Palace, all ready for action – a group of players that would fit into most Premier League teams. With only 10 league games left to play and no cup distractions after being knocked out of the Europa League against Sporting on Thursday, Arsenal have the team to deal with the skirmish.

3. The palace looks doomed despite the dismissal of the manager

Don’t be fooled by Crystal Palace’s mid-table position. The team without a manager is in a downward spiral and they could easily be relegated this season.

The sacking of manager Patrick Vieira on Friday may have come as a surprise to many, but Palace have played 13 games in 2023 without winning a single one. At least they ended their four-game goalless streak when Jeffrey Schlupp scored in the second half.

They say the standings don’t lie, but they certainly give the Selhurst Park club a false sense of security right now. Palace are still in 12th position after losing to the Emirates, but they are only three points above the bottom three and only four points behind Southampton’s bottom team. Of the eight teams below them, only Nottingham Forest have failed to win in any of their last six games; There must be a growing sense of dismay at Palace that their rivals are beginning to take shape in the relegation battle.

Aside from an 11th-minute strike by Wilfrid Zaha that hit the post, Palace were no threat to Arsenal under interim manager Paddy McCarthy and defeat was inevitable when Gabriel Martinelli gave the home side the lead.

Palace have already struggled with Vieira, but it’s hard to see who can stop their decline. They look like a team heading for relegation.

Best and Worst Performers

BEST

Ben White, defender, Arsenal: The Arsenal right-back canceled out the threat posed by Palace winger Wilfried Zaha and became a vital cog on the way forward, setting up moves for the first two goals.

Bukayo Saka, FW, Arsenal: A great end to Arsenal’s second goal and a superb performance on the right flank. On the way to becoming a global star in the coming years.

Rob Holding, defender, Arsenal: Replacing the injured William Saliba was no easy task, but the Arsenal centre-back did a good job with Gabriel.

WORST

Wilfried Zaha, FW, Crystal Palace: Showed glimpses of a threat in the future, but his lack of focus and poor score led to Arsenal’s first two goals. Zaha can’t just attack and forget about defense.

Joel Ward, defender, Crystal Palace: Martinelli scored Arsenal’s opening goal too easily, failing to get close enough to the Gunners striker.

Odsonne Edouard, FW, Crystal Palace: Failed to take advantage of the absence of William Saliba in the Arsenal defense, making life difficult for Holding and Gabriel. Could not keep the ball to help his team.

Highlights and Notable Moments

Arsenal didn’t just score four goals on Sunday; they also produced some finishes that were extremely pleasing to the eye. For example, the first goal that Gabriel Martinelli scored in cold blood. Love the build up and then how well he creates space to swing his left foot over the ball.

Gabriel Martinelli LOVES to score against Crystal Palace. 😤

📺: @USANetwork#MyPLMorning | #ARSKRI pic.twitter.com/Cm2ATUC3gA

— NBC Sports Soccer (@NBCSportsSoccer) March 19, 2023

And then there’s Bukayo Saka’s first goal, in which the Gunners demoralized the Palace defense with a deft shot.

Saka scores as Arsenal lead 2-0 in the first half!

📺: @USANetwork#MyPLMorning | #ARSKRI pic.twitter.com/k8pWHPYyJQ

— NBC Sports Soccer (@NBCSportsSoccer) March 19, 2023

Ugh!

After the match: what the players/managers said

“Very happy, we needed this win and as I always say we approach every game like a final and we did it today. It was a good goal, a good pass from [Bukayo Saka]. I don’t know if it was for me or for someone else, but it was a good finish with my weak leg, a good goal.” Arsenal striker Gabriel Martinelli.

Key statistics (provided by ESPN Stats & Information research)

– Gabriel Martinelli scored his 24th career Premier League goal, breaking a draw with Nicolas Anelka and finishing second among Arsenal players before he turned 22. Bukayo Saka is at the top of this list with 29 goals.
– Bukayo Saka is the youngest player in the Premier League with 10 goals and 10 assists in a season in at least the last 15 seasons.
– Saka is also the first Arsenal player to score 10 goals and 10 assists in a Premier League season since Alexis Sanchez in 2016-17.
– Bukayo Saki’s 29 Premier League goals equals Raheem Sterling, who scored 10th most goals in the Premier League before he turned 22.

next

Arsenal: The Gunners still have a couple more victorious but potentially difficult games to play after the international break. Leeds United will visit the Emirates on April 1st for a Premier League game and then Arteta and company will travel to Anfield for the big match against Liverpool on April 9th.

Crystal Palace: After the break, Palace will play a couple of matches against teams also struggling with the specter of relegation, with a home game against Leicester City (April 1) and an away game against Leeds United (April 9).

Who is the worst person in the Formula 1 paddock? Max Verstappen is favorite to win his third racing championship in a row in 2023, but is he unbeatable outside the car too? Lewis Hamilton could spend his final season in F1 if Mercedes isn’t fast enough again, but will he beat George Russell in a fistfight? And what about Fernando Alonso? old man’s strength?

We found the person who deciphered this hypothetical scenario.

A former Williams test driver in 1998 who also raced in IndyCar and won titles in Brazil, Max Wilson is an F1 color commentator in his home country. In his spare time, Wilson prefers to “relax” by exchanging punches and kicks in martial arts classes with the Chute Boxe Diego Lima team in Sao Paulo, under the same roof as the former UFC lightweight champion. Charles Oliveira.

Wilson has been involved in judo, jiu-jitsu, muay thai and boxing since childhood, but the choice of a career path for him was a victory in car racing. We interviewed Wilson about Formula 1 and MMA-style driver dispute resolution. He is now the undisputed 2023 Formula 1 mixed martial arts champion among all ten Formula 1 teams. Here’s how he views these hypothetical ten matches.

Red Bull: Max Verstappen vs. Sergio Perez

Well, if this is a five-round fight and it comes to a decision, Max Verstappen will beat Sergio Perez 50-44 – unless he knocks him out in the first round. We did the first race and saw that Verstappen was not even in danger, but this does not necessarily mean that we saw his full potential. Very often, a driver drives at cruising speed when he is at a safe distance from other drivers. I don’t know yet if Verstappen can finish 10 seconds before a second of a full minute, we will find out as the season progresses.

Mercedes: Lewis Hamilton vs. George Russell

If they fight 10 times – and I know no one fights 10 times – I think the record is four times between Davison Figueiredo another Brandon Moreno – I think every fighter wins five. Hamilton is one of the greatest drivers in Formula 1 history. Russell clearly does not have Hamilton’s numbers, but he showed potential and talent. Experience aside, he has the same potential as Hamilton. Russell finished ahead of Hamilton last year as well. But if they only fought once, it’s a draw.

Aston Martin: Fernando Alonso vs. Lance Stroll

What Alonso has done is impressive. If you go back to the history of Formula 1, drivers stop racing when things get more difficult after winning the championship. Alonso won his last championship 17 years ago and came close to winning again in 2007 and twice for Ferrari. After that, he had difficult years, he left Formula 1 and returned, but he is still here. Now he has the opportunity to fight for the top spots in 2023 and that resilience is what I admire about him. I would say Alonso will win this fight by knockout or 50-44 if it comes down to a decision.

Ferrari: Charles Leclerc vs. Carlos Sainz

I think this fight ends in a decision and Leclerc wins eight out of 10 fights. Maybe Carlos Sainz would win here or there because he is talented, but I think Leclerc is a level up, but not enough to say that he will win all 10 fights.

Alfa Romeo: Valtteri Bottas vs. Zhou Guangyu

Look, Zhou Guangyu had an impressive debut season last year, he didn’t make many mistakes and raced alongside Bottas. Bottas, despite not having the same high numbers as Hamilton, he won pole position 20 times when they were on the same team. He’s fast, but he doesn’t have the stability of Hamilton or Verstappen. Going back to that fight, they were close last year but I would say Bottas is the favorite because of his experience in Formula 1. I would say Bottas wins 29-28 in a three round fight.

McLaren: Lando Norris vs. Oscar Piastri

This is very similar to Jose Aldo against. Max Holloway to fight – not so much for the result, but for history. You have a well-established guy, a genius we all know, and another one with a lot of potential. I think it’s about Piastri and Norris. Even the cool Norris is very young, he already has a great record in Formula 1. Piastri showed his potential by winning Formula 3 in his debut year, then winning Formula 2 in his debut year, and then moving to Formula 1. He has potential, but time will tell if he can defeat the elder lion. He wasn’t close in the first race but it was his first race and we can give him a break. I’d rather not choose for this fight [laughs].

Haas: Kevin Magnussen vs. Nico Hulkenberg

Magnussen had a great year when he returned to Formula 1 last year, but I’m betting on Hulkenberg. Hulkenberg like [Ronaldo Souza] “Jacare”. “Jacare” had every chance of becoming a UFC champion, but failed many times when he was about to get such an opportunity, but the fact that he did not become a UFC champion does not change the fact that he could not become one. On the contrary, in fact. Hulkenberg’s F1 record is similar to Jacaret’s in MMA. He holds the record for the most races without a podium, just like the Jacares have never managed to win a title shot. But Hulkenberg’s potential is huge. Hulkenberg is one of the few drivers that Rubens Barrichello praised as teammates. Despite these numbers, and the fact that he has never finished on the podium, and F1 is three years away, the fact that Haas went into the third quarter shows his potential. So I would choose Hulkenberg to win.

Alpine: Esteban Ocon vs. Pierre Gasly

It’s a little more difficult because they’ve only raced once as teammates and it’s hard to draw conclusions. Although Okon qualified better [in Bahrain]Gasly’s race was much better than Ocon’s. I would stay on the fence for this [laughs].

AlphaTauri: Yuki Tsunoda vs. Nick de Vries

Photo by Peter Fox/Getty Images

Based on the first race, we assume that Tsunoda will be faster than de Vries throughout the year because he did better in the race, but I believe in de Vries. All the tension and emotion in your first Formula 1 race comes to you and affects your performance. De Vries’ career history, Formula 2 and Formula E champion – and I think he has something that Tsunoda doesn’t have, which is professionalism. I think he is very talented, so I choose de Vries, 30-27 years old.

Williams: Alex Albon vs. Logan Sargent

So far, we have only had one of the 23 rounds in the Formula 1 season, so it’s too early to say anything. Albon has done well this year, but so has Logan Sargeant. Sargent has a label that he got into F1 not on merit but because he’s American, but how a driver gets into F1 doesn’t necessarily say what his future will be. For example, [Michael] Schumacher got into Formula 1 thanks to Mercedes. Logan Sargent was by far the best debutant [in Bahrain]. He did great in the first race, despite all the expectations and pressure, so I think he has a lot of room for improvement. Maybe it’s a split decision, but I don’t know who will win.