Olivier Giroud began 2017 with a bona fide goal-of-the-year candidate, helping Arsenal see off Crystal Palace 2-0 to go third in the Premier League.
Giroud lit up the 200th game at Emirates Stadium, opening the scoring with a scorpion kick that echoed Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s effort for Manchester United against Sunderland – though the Frenchman’s ability to stay onside surely trumps the Armenian’s effort.
Spectacular in isolation, the goal also helped Giroud continue on a redemptive run of form that has seen him score in his past two games – his only league starts of the campaign.
As ridiculous as Giroud’s effort was, Arsenal’s second goal through Alex Iwobi could also be branded as such – though at the opposite end of the spectrum.
Arsene Wenger’s side have responded to defeats at Everton and Manchester City with successive victories to nil and they head a tightly packed clutch of clubs trailing second-placed Liverpool in the race to cling onto Chelsea’s coattails.
Palace, meanwhile, remain two points above the drop zone in 17th and Sam Allardyce may fancy a dip into the January sales if he is to steer the Eagles away from danger, as he did with Sunderland last term.
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