Arsenal Defeat Crystal Palace 3-2; Alexis Sanchez Scores Quick-Fire Brace

Alexis Sanchez grabbed a quick-fire double for Arsenal as the Gunners beat Crystal Palace 3-2 at Selhurst Park on Thursday. 

Shkodran Mustafi opened the scoring for the visitors, but they were pegged back when Andros Townsend equalised four minutes into the second half.

Arsenal hit back through Sanchez who bagged two goals in four minutes to secure the win, despite James Tomkins' late header.

It was a landmark night for Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger as he took charge of the Gunners for the 810th time in the Premier League, equalling Sir Alex Ferguson's record, per the Premier League:

The Gunners boss opted to revert to a back three for the trip to Selhurst Park. James Gheerbrant of the Times shared both lineups:

It was an even start to the game, but Arsenal slowly started to take control of the match and went ahead after 28 minutes.

Alexandre Lacazette picked up possession in the penalty area, and although a diving Julian Speroni saved his shot, he could only push it into the path of Mustafi to sidefoot home at the far post.

ESPN FC's Mattias Karen felt Arsenal were good value for their lead:

Arsenal had further chances to extend their advantage, with Speroni saving well from Mesut Ozil and the German then wasting a good chance on the counter, while Lacazette also fired into the side-netting.

Goal's Chris Wheatley showed how dominant the Gunners had been in the first half:

However, Palace came storming back after the break and levelled within minutes of the restart.

The ball was played out wide to Wilfried Zaha on the left, and he cut it back for Andros Townsend to slot past goalkeeper Petr Cech.

The Independent's Jack Pitt-Brooke was quick to praise Zaha:

The goal lifted the crowd, and Palace began to take the game to Arsenal, with Ruben Loftus-Cheek having a shot blocked before firing another chance over the bar.

But Arsenal restored their lead just after the hour mark, Lacazette again pounced on a loose ball and gave it to Sanchez to power home.

The Chilean added a second four minutes later. Jack Wilshere superbly picked out the No. 7, who controlled it on his thigh before touching it home.

Opta showed how Sanchez enjoys London derbies:

Both sides continued to enjoy chances. Hector Bellerin tested Speroni with a fierce shot before Zaha headed a good chance well wide.

Yet Zaha continued to torment the Arsenal defence, setting up substitute Bakary Sako for a couple of chances as Palace pressed for a way back into the game.

They were rewarded for their efforts when Tomkins headed home Townsend's corner in the 89th minute, but it was proved just a consolation as Arsenal held on for the win.