On the face of it, a 2-0 win and a clean sheet for Arsenal away to Crystal Palace is a great result to kick off the new Premier League season. But that does not quite tell the whole story from the match.
Mikel Arteta admitted his side needed to dig deep and show resilience at Selhurst Park, particularly in the second half when Patrick Vieira's side were chasing an equaliser following Gabriel Martinelli's first-half opener. The points were sealed when Marc Guehi diverted a dangerous ball from Bukayo Saka past Vicente Guaita late in the game.
But before that late settler, Palace were in the ascendency for long periods. Aaron Ramsdale came to the rescue on two occasions, saving a fairly tame header from Odsonne Edouard in the first half before making himself big in a one-vs-one situation to block Eberechi Eze's shot, with the Palace star knowing he should have scored.
