Three things learnt from Crystal Palace’s 3-0 demolition of Arsenal

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Sam Allardyce hasn’t lost his touch

It has taken Sam Allardyce a while to get his methods across to his squad and a couple of quality January additions have helped him shape them into a winning team.

They have moved six points clear of the relegation zone and it looks unlikely that they will be in any serious danger of finishing in the bottom three if they continue delivering this level of performance.

On Monday, they were difficult to beat and posed a real threat themselves. Allardyce is often criticised for playing negative football, but it was far from that against Arsenal. They countered with lots of pace and they could have scored more on another day.

The Eagles have now won five of their last six matches and it has been an incredible turnaround. The first six weeks of his tenure weren’t great as they continued to drop points and a humiliating home defeat to Sunderland suggested that this would be one survival mission too many for Allardyce.

However, fortunes have changed for the former England manager. They haven’t only won five in six, but they have managed to keep four clean sheets in the process. There are solid foundations to build on and it now looks like they will be doing so as a Premier League club