Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta talks about injury status of William Saliba and Declan Rice after ‘most precious’ win against Crystal Palace

Ebelesi Eze’s first-half goal against his former club led Arsenal to a seventh consecutive win in all competitions, leaving them at the top of the Premier League with a four-point difference over the Gunners.

But the results may have come at a price. Saliba was replaced by Cristian Mosquera at half-time, and Rice limped off in the final 10 minutes.

Arteta admitted he was not entirely sure about the severity of the injury. With Martin Odegaard, Kai Havertz, Noni Madueke and Gabriel Jesus currently sidelined, Arsenal will be hoping this setback is not too serious.

Arteta told Sky Sports: “William Saliba felt some pain. So did Declan (Rice). Willie (Saliba) got a knock and went off. In Declan’s case, I don’t know if it was his calf or his Achilles tendon because it was a knock.”

“I cherish this win more than any win this season. When you’re playing every three days, you’re playing against one of the teams that I think is one of the best teams. If you lose that focus, they can punish you.”

“I’m really happy because we knew how difficult the match would be. It was a decisive victory against a good team. Today we were excellent both clinically and defensively. There is no other opponent that can create big chances with the way they set up.”

“They (the players) have earned it. The way they fight, the way they play, the way they want to win is amazing. The five players that came on today made a big difference again. You can see it from other results in the Premier League… we have to do very well to win.”

Arteta also admitted Gabriel Martinelli “felt something”, while Bukayo Saka was substituted after missing pre-match training due to illness.

It could be a crucial weekend in the race for the Premier League title.

With Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester City all defeated, Arsenal went from five points behind defending champions Liverpool to seven points behind the Merseysiders.

Arsenal dug deep to beat Crystal Palace

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Arsenal needed another set-piece to settle a tense match in north London, as Eze converted Rice’s free-kick and confidently slotted it into the top corner.

Regarding the results in other countries, Arteta remained focused on what he can control, joking: “It shows how difficult this league is. The players aren’t allowed to use mobile phones so I’d like to think they didn’t know.”

“We’re where we are. It’s a credit to us being very consistent. It doesn’t mean much other than we’re doing a lot of things.”

Trossard: We know we can score from every set piece.

Leandro Trossard’s shot from an angle emphasized the importance of patience on an afternoon when clear-cut chances were few and far between.

Trossard told Sky Sports: “I’m really happy with the win and also with the clean sheet. We need to keep going and we’ve been in that situation lately. We have to be patient throughout the game because we know we can score at any time. We could have let the game go.”

“We’re excited too. We know if we make set-pieces we can score. It’s hard to pinpoint (why we’ve been particularly good this season), but we’re learning more and more each season. We just want to win, win every game.”

Highlights: Gokeres bag helps Arsenal beat Atletico Madrid

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Palace, who had been unbeaten in the first 10 games of the season, are without a win in their last four games, losing three of them.

Palace manager Oliver Glasner told Sky Sports: “It’s a mixture of frustration with the result and pride, especially with our performance in the first half. We can’t give Arsenal anything.”

“It’s a stupid foul. We gave Ebusu (Eberechi Eze) a second shot and we know he has a good shot.

“We tried everything. It’s disappointing to lose 1-0 here, but it shows our progress. We still lack a little bit. Mikel Arteta is doing a great job. It means we’re getting a little bit better in every phase. We need to score when we have two or three chances.”