Arsene Wenger Hails Contract Worry Trio After Battling to Win Over Crystal Palace

Arsene Wenger hailed the commitment of his Arsenal side after they beat a battling Crystal Palace 3-2 at Selhurst Park to go level on points with fifth placed Tottenham.

Shkodran Mustafi's strike had Wenger's side 1-0 up at half time, and after Andros Townsend had equalised, a quickfire double from Alexis Sanchez put Arsenal in control before James Tomkins' late header gave Palace some brief hope.

Wenger paid particular tribute to Alexis Sanchez, Mesut Ozil and Jack Wilshere, all of whom are out of contract in the summer, saying after the match: “People question the commitment of players who are not on long-term contracts and that showed you it’s not true - and not right."

Wilshere, who provided an outstanding assist for Sanchez' second goal, was singled out by his manager after completing his fourth consecutive league game having started the season as a fringe player, with Wenger saying: “I just think that Jack had a good performance today and on top of that he gave a fine ball. When you’re a midfielder that’s what you want to do.

“He showed he’s back in a good shape and is competitive. Because people have not seen Jack at that level in a long time.”

The victory at Selhurst Park saw Wenger equal Sir Alex Ferguson's Premier League record 810 games as a manager, and the the Frenchman will surpass his old rivals record when his side travel to West Brom on New Year's Eve.