Eze struck late in the first half at the Emirates Stadium to ensure Arsenal took full advantage of the latest losses for title rivals Liverpool and Manchester City.
The England midfielder had netted just once in 10 previous appearances for the Gunners in all competitions since arriving from Palace in a US$80 million deal in August.
Having finished as runners-up for the last three years, Arsenal’s seventh win from nine league games added to the growing feeling that this could be the season they finally end their title drought.
Arteta’s side are four points clear of second-placed Bournemouth and, more significantly, six ahead of Manchester City and seven clear of Liverpool.
Liverpool’s 3-2 defeat at Brentford on Saturday left the champions’ title defence in turmoil after a fourth successive top-flight loss.
Chasing a first English title since 2004 and a first trophy since the 2020 FA Cup, Arsenal have reeled off seven successive wins in all competitions.
The Gunners have only conceded three goals in their 13 games in all competitions this season, a parsimonious run including 10 clean-sheets.
“A massive win. We knew the difficulty of it. Big credit to Crystal Palace for the way they set up. They made it really difficult for us,” Arteta said.
“The technique from Eze is unbelievable. We needed something special. We found a way to score against a team really well organised,” he added. “We didn’t score a second goal and when you don’t do that you are in danger, but we restricted them to very little.” (AFP)
