Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta admitted he "had a feeling" Granit Xhaka would score against Crystal Palace on Sunday and told the midfielder as much.
Xhaka scored the Gunners' goal in midweek against Sporting CP, only for the Portuguese side to eventually knock Arteta's team out of Europe on penalties. The Swiss international was on target again against Palace, scoring the third of four Arsenal goals as the league leaders moved eight points clear at the top.
The 30-year-old now has six goals this season - the best single-campaign return of his career - with four of those coming in the league to match his tally from 2018-19. Manager Arteta was far from surprised, though, given what he has seen from the midfielder in training.
"Believe in the game, get in the right position, believe the ball is going to land in the right moment and then being clinical there," Arteta said when asked about Xhaka's goal in his post-match press conference. The Gunners star squeezed the ball home after exchanging passes with Leandro Trossard, despite the best efforts of Palace defender Joel Ward.
"I had a feeling today," Arteta continued. "I told him ‘you’re going to score again’ because when you have that mindset and you are there and I see the way he’s training, good things are going to happen. He’s been phenomenal all season."
The result leaves Arsenal eight points clear at the top of the Premier League table, having played one game more than challengers Manchester City. Arteta's team will be back in action on April 1, with a number of their players linking up with their national sides before returning with a home game against Leeds.
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"[My message is] that they look after themselves in this period, and I [will] try to look after the players that have to remain with us here," Arteta said ahead of the international break. "And that they come back with the same mindset that they were in before, to go into Leeds, which is the only important game we have right now, and try to win that one."
The last international break saw Gabriel Jesus pick up an injury at the World Cup, but the Brazil international is now back and continued his recovery with a cameo from the bench against Palace. However, Arteta is refusing to worry about players suffering further setbacks in the next break.
"I want to think positively. I touch wood, I want to think positively," Arteta said. "They are going to play games and they have to do it in the way they do it here. Or better than they do it here, especially because they are representing their country. We are in contact with all of them, they know how to look after them."
