Mikel Arteta praised his players after admitting they were made to “suffer” for their first win of the season.
Gunners forward Gabriel Martinelli scored the first goal of the 2022/23 campaign and the travelling fans finished the night by chanting: “We are top of the league.”
It came after Arsenal passed a stern examination at Selhurst Park as Gabriel Jesus shone on his debut and France defender William Saliba was outstanding with a man of the match display in defence.
Arsenal boss Arteta, who enjoyed his 50th Premier League win as manager, said: “To win here, you need to suffer - we’ve done it and that’s part of the mentality we want to build, to come to places like this and win.
“The most important thing is to win the first match, to build confidence and momentum, and then you can talk about things we need to improve - there were quite a few today, to be honest.
“You need the right balance because if you come short in terms of physicality in this game, you’re going to be exposed. To have players at the back of the right size is really important in these kinds of matches.
“That’s the resilience we need to win football matches and see them through. Aaron Ramsdale did incredibly well from the one-on-one and won the game for us.”
Arteta reserved special praise for Saliba who, two years after signing for the Gunners and spending a couple of years out on loan, made a winning debut.
"Saliba was superb tonight. Let him play and let him develop. We had a plan for him before we wanted to expose him and he showed how good he is as a defender."
Arteta also praised Jesus for his role in the opening goal from a set piece: "One of the set-piece coaches created the routine for the first goal and we practised it yesterday.
“Gabriel Jesus has the fear factor: he is always on your shoulder, he’s never standing still, he’s always moving and he’s so sharp. He has the intuition to get the ball off you so it’s difficult for defenders.”
Crystal Palace manager Patrick Vieira added: "From the small chances you create, you have to score goals. We played well at times but you have to take your chances when they come - especially against a team like Arsenal.”
