RAYA SUNSHINE

Rested Gunners back on course and firing after 'a good break'

- Mike Walters

ARSENAL 5

CRYSTAL PALACE 0 

IT IS official sunshine makes you happy.

Arsenal returned from their winter break refreshed, rejuvenated and as walking billboards for the adage that if you face the sun, the shadows will fall behind you.

It remains to be seen whether a bunch of fives against Crystal Palace's version of slip, slap, slop slipping towards trouble, slapped in the chops by their own fans' protests and sloppy at set pieces will paper over the cracks and chronic shortage of a goalscorer.

But after three consecutive defeats, the Gunners needed to stop the haemorrhage and they found a tourniquet on their mid-season sunshine camp in Dubai.

Goalkeeper David Raya said: "We needed a win like this. It was a good break, we trained hard and focused on the things we had to improve.

"We played a lot of games last month and it was a nice way for the players and the staff to reconnect, and showed we are capable of we performing at the highest level. It was a moment where we could say, 'We are here and we're ready to fight for everything'.