LONDON // Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was delighted after he scored twice on his return to the Arsenal starting line-up as they reclaimed the top spot in the Premier League with a 2-0 victory over Crystal Palace.
Arsene Wenger’s side recorded their eighth win from their last nine matches and extended their unbeaten run to 10 games in all competitions. But the defeat left Palace just one point above the relegation zone alongside West Bromwich Albion on 23 points.
The 20-year-old midfielder returned from a serious knee injury – which had sidelined him since August – last month and fired home his first two goals of the season. He told Sky Sports 1: “It’s something I want to add to my game – more goals – so it was nice to get two today.
“It’s always an amazing feeling to score a goal and especially at a stadium like the Emirates and I’m glad I can help the team with two goals.”
After a goalless first half Oxlade-Chamberlain collected Santi Cazorla’s ball forward, controlled it well and dinked it over Palace goalkeeper Julian Speroni from close range two minutes after the break.
Oxlade-Chamberlain doubled the Gunners’ lead after 73 minutes after playing a clever one-two with Olivier Giroud and beat Speroni with a powerful low shot.
Despite a tough opening half, Oxlade-Chamberlain was pleased his side dug in hard after the break.
He said: “It was a tough game against Palace and they made it hard for us in the first half.
“But in the second half we knew if we kept the tempo up and kept wearing them down then we’d get more opportunities and we did.”
