If Manchester City are painted as the irresistible force in this Premier League title race, then Arsenal are beginning to resemble the immovable object.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain stole the limelight with a brace on his first start since injuring his knee ligaments in August but he was given that chance only because of another 90 minutes of focused defending that provided a platform on which to attack.

Crystal Palace were not the most expansive of opponents. With just five goals to their name, Palace have scored the fewest away goals in the division and they found that when you park the bus, the engine takes longer to warm up because it has been stationary for so long.

That said, Tony Pulis’s side did offer a sporadic threat — they managed 10 shots to Arsenal’s 11. Wojciech Szczesny was required to make a smart save to deny Cameron Jerome, while Lukas Podolski and Oxlade-Chamberlain were among the midfielders needing to track back to maintain the Gunners’ grip on proceedings.

City are averaging a remarkable 2.96 goals in a game but Arsenal have quietly accumulated impressive defensive statistics of their own ahead of a daunting run of fixtures. Since beating Liverpool at the start of November, they have kept 10 clean sheets in 11 matches at Emirates Stadium.

The last player to score against the Gunners at home was Gerard Deulofeu for Everton in early December, while Per Mertesacker and Laurent Koscielny are unbeaten in the last 31 League games in which they have completed 90 minutes.

With Liverpool twice, Manchester United and Bayern Munich in their next four matches, Arsenal’s resilience will be tested to the maximum. “We have been together for much longer, we understand each other’s game now,” said Szczesny. “We are playing with a more settled back four. Over the last couple of seasons we have had less luck with injuries. I never played with the same back four for more than two or three games, whereas now we play with the same back four.

“Sometimes we rotate the full-backs but in general we stay with the same defence. We understand each other’s game, we read each other and it is a very good understanding we have. We realise that if you want to win the Championship, then you have to be solid defensively and that is the most important thing.

“We know that clean sheets give you the best platform to go on and win games, so if we can keep a few more until the end of the season then we can get our rewards.”

Palace, supported tirelessly by their travelling fans, for their part defended resolutely until Oxlade-Chamberlain ghosted into the box and finished smartly from Santi Cazorla’s pass. Palace goalkeeper Julian Speroni could have dealt with Oxlade-Chamberlain’s second effort a little better but it was nevertheless an impressive return for the England youngster in a central midfield role which Arsene Wenger has earmarked as his best position.

With Arsenal opting against signing a striker mid-season, goals from midfield will be vital in helping Olivier Giroud to carry the attacking burden. But the defence must also stay strong with defining challenges ahead.