A header from Gabriel Martinelli and deflected Bukayo Saka shot gave Arsenal a two-goal opening day victory at Crystal Palace – who they had beaten just once in their previous eight attempts.
Martinelli broke the deadlock in the 20 th minute as he headed home from a clever corner routine that saw Oleksandr Zinchenko peel away into space at the back post, with his header across the face of goal being turned in by the Brazilian.
That made up for the forward spurning a glorious opportunity to open the scoring in the third minute as he skewed his effort wide from point-blank range. It summed up the dominance from the visitors in the opening half-hour, with Palace unable to get out of their own half.
Yet the home side grew into the game as the half went on – Odsonne Edouard twice was denied from close range as Arsenal’s control of the game declined under the home side’s pressure. Yet Palace could not find a leveller and it was a deflected effort from Saka that settled the game late on.
Mirror Football has drawn up six talking points from the Premier League season opener at Selhurt Park.
Jesus transforms Arsenal’s attack
Gabriel Jesus was the keynote arrival of Arsenal’s summer transfer window to date as he replaced the outgoing Alexandre Lacazette in Mikel Arteta’s squad. The Brazilian was the standout player in Arsenal’s attack throughout this match.
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Jesus started in a central position rather than out wide on the right, where he has been more often selected for Brazil and Manchester City. His energy, work rate and creativity helped transform the possibilities of Arsenal’s attack with a clear sign of what is to come this campaign.
Saliba a rock in defence
William Saliba has spent the past three campaigns out on loan deals away from Arsenal, with this his first ever Premier League appearance. For many Arsenal fans, this was long overdue – Saliba starred in Ligue 1 for Marseille and is now a senior international with France.
Saliba produced a calm and assured performance without any flaws, showing his capability of playing out from the back against a pressing side and also being able to control defensive situations and get his body in the way of goal bound efforts.
Ben White conundrum
The side impact of Saliba’s presence in Arsenal’s line-up was the need to break up the central defensive partnership of Ben White and Gabriel. For this game, Arteta decided to shift White into the right-back position – although it predictably had mixed results.
It was a testing night for the England international up against Wilfried Zaha, against whom he received a yellow card for a foul, and Palace regularly looked to exploit that side of the Gunners defence.
The return of Takehiro Tomiyasu is likely to see him return to the regular right-back role – where Cedric Soares can also play – which may bring up a big selection issue for Arteta.
Arsenal break sticky Palace record
Prior to tonight’s clash, Arsenal’s record against Palace was nothing to write home about. Memories of April’s three-goal loss at Selhurst Park will still have been fresh, but that marked a wider trend in this particular fixture.
Arsenal had only recorded one victory across the past eight meetings between these two sides; a 3-1 victory at this venue two seasons ago, when Gabriel Martinelli also on the scoresheet in that game.
Gunners make positive start on the road
Arsenal missed out on a top four spot last campaign courtesy of losing too many matches; including nine matches away from home – just under half of their games on the road.
Furthermore, they failed to find the net in eight of those encounters including in four of their last six – damaging defeats at Palace, Southampton, Tottenham and Newcastle. It is not an astute observation to suggest that must improve this season.
A lack of goals was the biggest issue last season although the opening half hour of this game suggested an increase in intensity and intent, which heralded the crucial breakthrough goal of the campaign.
Palace lose Selhurst record
Crystal Palace finished last season with five successive clean sheets in Premier League home matches. This was an impressive enough stat in itself, but that it includes games against Manchester City, Arsenal and Manchester United made it even more notable. That run came to an end thanks to Martinelli’s header in the 20 th minute.
Last season, Patrick Vieira’s side also secured wins over Arsenal, Tottenham, Manchester City and Manchester United – showing that they are well-equipped to deal with top six teams.
