Arsenal shrugged off the absence of Alexis Sanchez as they romped to a 4-1 victory over Crystal Palace in the Premier League on Saturday
 the Gunners blew Palace away with four goals in a dazzling opening 22 minutes
Nacho Monreal, Alex Iwobi and Laurent Koscielny all finished from close range before Alexandre Lacazette fired in after a slick passing move
Palace improved in the second half but could only pull back a consolation goal in the 78th minute through Luka Milivojevic
The win is Arsenal's first in 2018 and provides a timely boost after defeat at Bournemouth last weekend and then a week dominated by transfer speculation
With several key players back, the Gunners made a rampant start as Monreal headed in from a corner in the sixth minute before crossing for Iwobi to make it 2-0 shortly afterwards
Monreal was also involved in the third goal as he knocked a corner across goal for Koscielny to tap in
Palace looked all at sea defensively and they were cut apart in the 22nd minute by a superb goal that saw the excellent Ozil combine with Wilshere and then backheel for Lacazette to rifle into the bottom corner
The only negative in the first half for the Gunners was Monreal going off with injury, having just returned from almost a month out
Petr Cech did make a late save in the 44th minute from a deflected shot from Wilfried Zaha, and Palace improved after the break as Arsenal's level dropped
Christian Benteke wasted Palace's best chance when he shot at Cech, and it took until the 78th minute for the visitors to finally respond when Milivojevic volleyed in from a corner
Arsenal wasted chances to score themselves as Iwobi and Lacazette were both denied by Wayne Hennessey, but their early flurry ensured the second half was more than comfortable
With Sanchez looking set to leave, keeping Ozil seems imperative for Arsenal based on this performance
Returning to the side after nearly three weeks out, he pulled the strings for the Gunners and produced a number of clever flicks and one-touch passes
 He also set up Lacazette's goal with a sublime backheel, and even though his influence faded in the second half, it was a brilliant display
Arsenal host Chelsea in the second leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final on Wednesday, live on
 They then travel to Swansea in the Premier League on Tuesday, January 30
 Crystal Palace's next game is a trip to West Ham on January 30
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