LONDON, January 20

Arsenal returned to winning ways in emphatic fashion with a 5-0 drubbing of toothless London rivals Crystal Palace to climb one place to third in the Premier League today.

Gabriel’s headed goal from a corner and a Dean Henderson own goal ndash; also largely the work of Gabriel ndash;put Mikel Arteta’s side in control in the first half, and with Palace looking lacklustre, Leandro Trossard increased the lead just short of the hour as he finished off a sweeping move.

Substitute Gabriel Martinelli confirmed Arsenal’s superiority and added some gloss to the scoreline with two almost identical finishes in stoppage time.

Palace, who are 14th, had a few chances of their own and almost equalised when Jefferson Lerma’s swerving shot was well-saved by David Raya shortly before Arsenal made it 2-0. But the way they subsided will raise more questions about the future of veteran manager Roy Hodgson.

Arsenal’s win ended a run of three successive defeats in all competitions. — Reuters