Crystal Palace continued their recent resurgence with a fifth win in six Premier League outings, overcoming Arsenal 3-0 at Selhurst Park on another tough night for opposition boss, Arsene Wenger.
A third home victory in succession for a completely reformed Palace side was secured thanks to goals from Andros Townsend, Yohan Cabaye and Luka Milivojevic, the latter of whom tucked away from a contentious penalty, to move them six clear of danger.
There was not a great deal between the two unchanged sides in the opening 18 minutes when the Eagles flipped the switch and found the opener through a belting finish from former Tottenham Hotspur winger Townsend five yards out.
Some good work from Wilfried Zaha created the goal, with the in-form wideman managing to pick out his teammate despite losing his footing when delivering the pass from out wide.
The Eagles started the second half the brighter and very nearly had a second goal.
As the hour mark approached Arsene Wenger turned to his bench, bringing on Aaron Ramsey in midfield and Olivier Giroud – a scorer at Selhurst Park in his previous three visits – in attack for the remainder.
It did not have the desired effect, though, because Palace were two up soon after thanks to a world-class finish from one-time Arsenal target Cabaye, lifting the ball over the reach of Martinez when picked out by an in-form Zaha.
A third soon followed after Martinez dived in on Townsend to concede a penalty, with the England international perhaps making the most of it, allowing Milivojevic to calmly tuck into the bottom corner.
Benteke struck a shot into Nacho Monreal late on as the Gunners slipped to an embarrassing fourth away defeat in succession for the first time under Wenger.
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