'MASSIVE WIN' MOST VALUABLE FOR ARTETA

Gunners overcome difficulty of beating Palace while on a tough stretch of games

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Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta hailed his team’s gritty 1-0 English Premier League victory over Crystal Palace as their most valuable of the season, praising his players’ resilience amid a relentless schedule and against a well-drilled side.

“Fully agree, I value more this victory than any other this season,” the Spaniard said after the win at the Emirates Stadium on Oct 26.

“Coming from playing every three days (they beat Atletico Madrid in the Champions League on Oct 21and next play Brighton in the League Cup on Oct 29), you play against one of the teams | think is one of the best — when you lose that concentration, they can punish you.

“A massive win. We knew the difficulty of it”

The victory, sealed by a stunning set-piece goal from Eberechi Eze against his former club, widened Arsenal's lead at the top of the league table to four points. But Arteta was quick to temper any title talk.

“It’s very early, we're still in October” he insisted. “The emotional state is really high, but there are a lot of things to get better. Let’s try and recover for Wednesday.”

Rivals Manchester City and Liverpool both lost over the weekend, which contributed to Arsenal’s gap.

“It shows you how hard this league is” Arteta added. “The players aren’t allowed their phones so I hope (that they weren't following other results).