It’s never easy with Arsenal is it? However the anxiety throughout the final half an hour of the Gunners trip to Selhurst Park in their first away game of the season proved worth it as Mikel Arteta’s side showed outstanding defensive resilience to grind out a 0-1 win after a very controversial red card for Japanese defender Takehiro Tomiyasu.
Mikel Arteta opted to start with the same system which he started in his team’s season opener at home Vs Nottingham Forest. Thomas Partey deployed inverting from right back and Takehiro Tomiyasu started at left back in the absence of Jurrien Timber. Oleksandr Zinchenko made the bench but was not deemed fit enough to start.
Arsenal started brightly, controlling over 75% possession of the ball, however failed to properly test Palace keeper Sam Johnstone. The best chance of the first half fell to Eddie Nketiah who did brilliantly to break past the Palace backline however unluckily hit the post. The Arsenal striker has a Somalis chance a couple of minutes later however decided to chip his effort and saw it go over the bar.
The second half saw Arsenal get off to the perfect start. As some excellent quick thinking from Gabriel Martinelli saw the Brazilian pick out Nketiah, and with the Palace backline asleep, the forward was fouled by Same Johnstone and won a penalty for his side. Interestingly, Bukayo Saka handed the ball over to captain Martin Odegaard who calmly dispatched his spot kick into the bottom left corner.
Mikel Arteta’s side continued to control the game with Aaron Ramsdale largely unthreatened. However, that all changed when Tomiyasu got a second yellow for pulling back Jordan Ayew, however the Japanese international barely made contact with the Palace man. His first yellow was also controversial, as it was for time wasting for a throw-in, however he took less time to take it than it took Kai Havertz to give him the ball originally. The red card left Arsenal with 10
men with over 25 minutes of normal time to go.
The controversial decision changed the game completely, and suddenly Palace were on the front foot and leaving Arsenal boxed into their own half. However, some excellent defending from Arsenal – and William Saliba in particular- saw them over the line and claim a huge three points to make it two wins from two in the 23/24 Premier League season.
Arsenal’s next test is another London derby, this time at home to a Fulham side fresh of a 0-3 defeat Vs Brentford.
Player Ratings:
Aaron Ramsdale: 7 – Some huge catches towards the end helped Arsenal over the line. Will be delighted with his first clean sheet of the season
Thomas Partey: 6 – Solid and controlled a lot of the game but had some poor passes
Ben White: 7 – Solid in defence
William Saliba: 8 – Outstanding. Some fantastic blocks and one brilliant tackle in the first half which he had to get right
Takehiro Tomiyasu: 5 – Was decent before his very harsh red card
Declan Rice: 8 – The £105m man showed exactly why he cost that much. Was brilliant throughout
Kai Havertz: 6 – Quiet at times but had some nice moments. Did well upfront in the final stages holding the ball up
Martin Odegaard: 7 – Not the captain’s greatest evening but scored the winner with a great penalty
Bukayo Saka: 7 – Always a threat
Eddie Nketiah: 7 – Was really bright but probably should’ve left Selhurst Park with a brace
Gabriel Martinelli: 6 – Was locked down well by Palace but played a big part in winning the penalty with a quick free kick