Arsenal have spent the best part of the last month waiting to exhale. After slipping and sliding down the table from their lofty position at the summit, after being accused of choking again, this comfortable, cantering victory over Crystal Palace felt like a long sigh of relief.
For all their recent travails, a 5-0 trouncing of a distinctly ordinary Palace side, for whom Eberechi Eze shone like a beacon in the gloom, reassured their fretful supporters and lifted Mikel Arteta’s team to third in the Premier League, level with Manchester City and just two points behind leaders Liverpool.