Result: Crystal Palace 0-2 Arsenal
Competition: Premier League
Date: 5 August 2022
Venue: Selhurst Park
Arsenal: Ramsdale, White, Saliba, Gabriel, Zinchenko (83), Partey, Xhaka, Odegaard (90+3), Martinelli, Saka, Jesus (83)
Subs: Turner, Tierney (83), Cedric, Holding, Elneny, Lokonga (90+3), Nelson, Pepe, Nketiah (83)
Gabriel Martinelli’s header and a Marc Guehi own goal helped Arsenal to a 2-0 win at Crystal Palace as Mikel Arteta’s side made the perfect start to the new campaign at Selhurst Park.
First Half
Blown away by Palace inside 30 minutes when the two sides faced each other in April, it was clear the Gunners needed to get an early foothold in the game this time, especially with the home fans making lots of noise following a pre-match tifo display.
We did exactly that. The high press that has been such a feature in pre-season was gainfully led by Gabriel Jesus and the passing was crisp and the tempo high. We should have had an early goal as a reward but Martinelli shot wide with the goal gaping after a brilliant jinking run by Jesus ended with a shot deflected into his teammate’s path.
Zinchenko was the next to try his luck, fizzing an effort that Guaita parried and Partey had a shot from the edge of the box blocked at close quarters.
The breakthrough came on 20 minutes from a well-worked corner. Saka floated a curling ball beyond the far post to Zinchenko who headed back across goal where Martinelli, inside the six-yard box, diverted the ball home with a header of his own. After his earlier miss, the Brazilian’s celebration was probably tinged with relief. (GOAL – 1-0)
Having been completely in control of proceedings, we started to get sloppy, exemplified by Ramsdale twice dwelling too long on the ball in his box. His nervousness gave the home side hope and they started to test us with long raking diagonal balls from defence to the flanks.
Cheap fouls given away by White and Partey allowed Palace to throw more balls under the crossbar which we dealt with well. In between Ramsdale made a very decent stop to prevent an Edouard header from finding the net.
There was a quick VAR check on a potential handball by Gabriel – rightly dismissed – Xhaka went into the book for a dive, just seconds after accusing Eze of doing the same thing, and Edouard again came close but saw his effort deflected over by the Swiss. All in all, solid but not spectacular.
Second Half
Palace maintained the frenetic pace as they continued their hunt for an equaliser. They should have had one on 52 minutes when Zaha split us open and Eze had only Ramsdale to beat. The keeper stood his ground and made an excellent save. Saliba then came to Ben White’s rescue with a crunching challenge on Zaha as the Ivorian continued to cause problems. White didn’t look like he was enjoying life at right-back and ended up in the book before the hour mark for a tug of Zaha’s shirt.
At the other end, Odegaard whipped a free-kick just wide of Guaita’s post and then turned down the chance to shoot after being played in by Jesus.
Those moments aside, Palace had the better of things and pressured us into mistake after mistake on the ball. Of the players in pink, only Saliba looked calm every time the ball came his way. It was an impressive debut from the Frenchman.
Having been bright before the break our other debutants, Zinchenko and Jesus, were muted. The latter took a couple of heavy challenges and looked very frustrated when fouls weren’t awarded. Both men were subbed off with seven minutes remaining to be replaced by Nketiah and Tierney.
The changes came as a reaction to more concerted pressure by Palace who did very well to stymy any Arsenal flow through the middle of the park. It didn’t look like we’d be the side to score next but with our first attack after the changes, we did exactly that.
Nketiah moved the ball to Saka who into the box from the right and smashed the ball across goal tempting Marc Guehi into an ill-judged attempt to clear. The ball flashed off the defender’s head and into the corner of the net. (GOAL – 2-0)
Arsenal’s travelling fans met the goal with wild celebrations and rounded off the evening by saluting Palace boss Patrick Vieira with repeated renditions of the song he so loved at Highbury.
A clean sheet and three points on the road. You can’t ask for much more from the start of a new campaign. Well done, boys. Onwards.
TOP OF THE LEAGUE BABY
Gives you a nice feeling.😄
Ok, I needed to see it in the prem before I went crazy. Give William Saliba all the monies. All of it. I don’t care if it’s 300k a week as long as it’s a six year deal. He’s a once in a generation talent and we must make him ours indefinitely. That felt a little last season at times but ecstatic with the three points. One of the harder places we will go this season so no point in too much introspection. If we are winning games by fine margins like this at home against Bournemouth then maybe I’ll… Read more »
Yes, oui, ja, si, get Saliba to sign that deal!
Agree – Saliba was awesome.
Eddie looked really exciting when he came on. He’s completely won me over, I used to think ‘meh’ when I saw him coming on, but he’s like a different player now
Delighted now. My only worry is this habit of going one up away from home after playing really well and then slowly surrendering possession. Great start though and saliba is class.
We stopped playing completely in the second half and got away with it in the end. Where were our technical leaders on the pitch?? I hope it’s a first game jitters thing otherwise we’re going to get punished again. Lord my heart.
not questioning your statement, but what did you see that excited you?
and what about Saliba my word. He’s 21!! Twenty one!!! And he was far and away the most calm, composed figure on the pitch. He’s such a joy to have at center back which can be such a nervy position to watch. Loved him today, he really feels like a brand new shiny expensive signing. Sign that contract Bill we will sing your name for years and years
Truly LANS
Yeah, those subs really changed the game. Great work Mikel too.
I was always a bit sceptical of this 5 sub rule being transformative. My buddy lives in Germany and they’ve had it for a few seasons without it making much difference. I dunno. Games are often decided on very fine margins and coaches clearly don’t want to offset the team to such a great extent.
Great win! COYFG!!! ❤️🤍❤️🤍❤️
It’s transformative if you have depth in the squad. From today’s (and last seasons) squad and timing of subs, Mikel obviously only trusts a few players in this squad. Fitness permitting, we add Tomi/ESR/Fabio to that list.
Honestly, I think it will be a good way to bring on players if you are 3 goals up or 3 goals down.
But I just can’t see coaches going crazy with it. They are too tactically dogmatic and multiple subs can be as much of a hindrance as a blessing as regards cohesion.
I could be wrong. But I’m looking at the other top leagues in Europe and not seeing a huge shift.
The coaches who are best at making the 5 subs rule work for their teams will benefit. Yes, depth is crucial. But I’m not so sure Mikel was not thinking about the additional subs when adding versatile players.
Last season, Guardiola, with the deepest squad in England–and maybe the world–often made two or fewer substitutions in a match. He kept his players fresh by rotating them from match to match but letting most of them play 90 minutes when they started.
Exactly. His energy and press was excellent, we should try playing him and Jesus together in some games.
Happy top of the table
Great result at a very difficult place.
Do not tell me that Xhaka is not a marked man. Booked for diving whilst 2 Palace players did similar things and nothing given.
I saw just one replay, but it looked as though Xhaka came down on a defender’s foot. It was unfortunate that there were a series of quasi-dives shortly before, and if anyone is going to get a warning yellow, it’s GX. Overall, the ref did not have a bad game. He could have given Palace a couple of very soft PKs.
He’s a top grade a-hole, not a marked man. I felt ashamed due to his behaviour, especially the unnecessary discussion and putting his hand on the ref’s shoulder. He’ll again bring less good than bad to us this season.
He started the second goal more or less. Tierney as well shored up the defense nicely.
We’ve got a relatively easier run of games after this, 4 on the trot I believe before United away. Win maximum points and top 4 (or more) looks more likely.
Me too. Me too. I have the exact same opinion. Was even telling someone this at the pub today. COYG! I fxcking love this team.
Arteta has cooked him and Martinelli real good. Look so much more accomplished in their play..
This team will get points that would previously have been lost. Great win and impossible not to be excited by Saliba,
Saliba absolutely flawless today – a well deserved MOTM award. The best business we can do right now is sign both him and Saka up to longer term contracts with the club.
100%. Would take those two extending their deals over any new signings.
Big performance from Saliba. I love his no nonsense persona, he’s like one of those doormen who doesn’t even look at you but just mutters “not tonight mate” and that’s it, might as well just go home.
Love it!
Zaha: Can I get in?
Saliba: Your name’s not down
Inspired subs from Arteta.
I didn’t see who Owen Goals came on for, but he really settled the nerves
It’s about time he started chipping in a few goals for us.
What season was that that he was almost our top scorer? By the way I’m the kill-joy that downvoted you in error.
We’ll go back and fix it by upvoting. It’ll cancel out the downvote
He has a chance to play for Wales in Qatar.
Great result! Palace are a bogey team so beating them away is an excellent start to the season. Hope we keep it going. COYR! We are top of the league….
I’m so happy, I wanna slap someone.
Saliba ✍️
Don’t slap Saliba
Would Saliba even notice if you did?
I’d be like a fly on a lion to him
Don’t crawl around his arse hole then
Thought this game was a proper banana skin, too soon to be an opener but tough enough to prepare us for the long haul.
Also didnt think we were troubled although mightily bothered. Think the ref was under pressure as this being first game. Of season and home game against media devils.
That said, COYG we can only get better.
Yeah it was, I know we’re without Tomi and Fabio still but the bench didn’t inspire too much. I didn’t think Odegaard had his best game today too.
and ESR
The bench had Nketiah, Tierney, Pepe, Holding and Elneny. Can’t see much wrong with that. Considering the injuries, not bad at all.
Great game, think we have a very well built team at the moment, we need those Liverpool esq signing that will take us to the next level,
Zaha and milinkovic Savic?
Certainly not exactly smooth sailing, but a huge result for the perfect start to the season. It’s been frustrating having our yearly loss away to Palace, so to overturn that on the first day is massive.
William Saliba is a Rolls Royce defender. Awesome MOTM performance by the man 👏🏼
Saliba to everyone: “Here’s how it’s done”.
I can’t believe this guy man, I pray he sees himself with us long-term 🙏
Ben white will find it tough to dislodge him from the side on that performance
He’ll find it tough to dislodge Tomi too when he returns. I love White but he can take a breather, competition is beautiful.
Saliba is a beast 🙌
Saliba, boy we have a super defender. The machine looks well oiled. Odegaard needs to improve his shooting. 3 points in the bag, COYG!
Big Bill took care of Zaha couple of times like he was nothing. What a beast! Man of the Match on his debut for a big club at a very difficult place.
Definitely worth getting up at 5am for eh?
100%
I set my alarm for 4am. My body got me up at 3:15 out of excitement and anticipation for this match
We’re clearly still a work in progress and should expect improvement throughout the season. There will clearly be ups and downs. We suffered a lot in the 2nd half and were a bit lucky. We have young players still learning the way, Odegaard wasn’t that great. We need to accrue more experience. But Saliba should be first name on the team sheet alongside Jesus and Saka. Gabriel gets the jitters sometimes, needs composure. Jesus, what a player, incredible we got him for so little. Central midfield worries me. With Xhaka you know what you’re going to get, this could be… Read more »
To City and Liverpool, we are top of the league!
I’ve never heard is this loud away from home in a long time! First, hats off to the fans who traveled. A good pre season just can’t be over-emphasized! We were sharp. We were pretty. We were physical when we needed to be. Kudos to the boys. So pumped for the season !!! COYG!!!
Heard us
A lot of teams are going to drop points playing Palace at Selhurst Park.
Saliba was clear motm, but I have to give appreciation to Anderson, those long diagonal balls were a huge problem all game
amazing win! Saliba OMG! what a debut!
tough game and arteta didnt make it any easier with his too late subs!!
will partey be able to perform for away games? was he rattled by the boos?
our midfield still outrun and outmuscled and that’s very alarming as it was the same last season
Not an unfair result but we should have played better. I’ll take this over last year’s first game of course.
3 points – get in!
Saliba <3
Top of the league!
Great three points! Saliba is so composed. He’s probably the new iceman!
BTW, anyone has any idea why Partey was getting booed all game by Palace supporters?
Some chick accused him on Twitter of a heinous crime.
Believe women.
SALIBABA!
sAlibaba and the forty clearances.
purrrrrr saliba .. I know it’s one game but he us head shoulders superior to white .. once tommy is back white will be playing the holding role in big games coming on from the bench .. great win .. come on you gunners
Far from flawless (other than Saliba who was) but 3 points all that matters in first game of the season.
White & Zinchenko are decent options at FB but I certainly wouldn’t pick either of them in that position ahead of Tomi or KT based on tonight.
Zinchenko lacks pace to be a full back, he ain’t as snappy as Tierney. It is Tierney all the way for me as preferred LB. However, I did like how Chaka and Zinchenko interchanged the positions and in attack, xhaka was a lot advanced because zinchenko tucked in as DM. So a good setup but Odegaard was little off color today. Hopefully he picks up real quick.
I’m not even sure it’s pace, Looking at him tonight he doesn’t look like he’s particularly comfortable defending. Cracking player though, I am really looking forward to see what he can do in midfield.
There will be times throughout the season that we will need White and Zinchenko to play in those positions to ensure Tomi and Tierney aren’t overworked and unavailable, and what a pair to bring into the side in what are arguably not their most suited positions. White, did really well up against Zaha, albeit with the help from Saka and the very assured Salina behind him. But we know White’s preferred position is at CB. Zinchenko, signed, in my opinion as a rotational player for Tierney to ensure Kieran’s fitness can be maintained so that he can get through the… Read more »
Such a solid professional performance. Already can’t wait for Leicester at home next week.
Great first half; not-so-great second.
We beat a gritty but not talented Palace side that made it hard for us. But my big problem was that we didn’t create enough clear-cut chances: Palace could have got something out of a game they deserved to lose.
Positives: the three new boys all looked good.
Negatives: Martinelli and Oderguard missing sitters,
Oh, and by the way: we need a fucking right-back ASAP!!! Ben White looked awful there.
A good night’s work.
White did well enough against Zaha, you forget Zaha is one of the best left-wingers in the league with tons of skill and speed. Shooting improvements are expected from Odegaard especially, as he’s bound to get into those positions and will need to be ruthless.
Saka helped out a lot – and Saliba was like a fucking wall. White clearly out of position and too slow. He´ll be good in Europe league with Holding
Apart from his yellow card I thought White was excellent.
He wasn’t
U clearly didn’t watch white closely
Hardly put a foot wrong and clearly got the better of Zaha. Really cannot understand what some people actually see. Also made some good forward runs.
You fucking kidding? Against Zaha? With the ball coming into him nearly every significant possession? He did fine. Room for improvement, yes, but he also helped with the play out of the back. We looked so much better playing out from the back then this time a year ago.
Eight successful tackles and four clearances, Fats. That’s eight successful tackles and four clearances more than you would have got from Cedric. Yes, we need more cover at Right Back, I’ve been banging on about this for ages. But Ben White isn’t the guy we should be looking to oust. The man in question – Cedric – was thankfully not on the pitch last night. Zaha would have absolutely roasted him alive and you can bet your last penny that the final score would have been different. Ben White is a fine player and we’re going to need him this… Read more »
Spot on Q.
Ben White is an excellent centre-half but is definitely not suited to the right side of defence.
How many times did he get forward? Can he cross a ball? Cedric absolutely can. White ain’t a right-back in a million years. But Cedric can’t defend: that’s why we need to sign a right-back asap.
I ❤️ SALIBA
Saliba is strong strong.
FINALLY, Saliba makes his debut. What a performance from the young man.
That result was workmen like. Defensively looked better, Ben White had a tough game, but 3 points is all can ask for. Top of the league since 23rd May, just another 10 months to go. 😂
The perfect start. This was always going to be a really hard fought win. Palace away is always tough for the big teams. Just ask Liverpool. An immense debut from Saliba and we showed grit until the end. These are the fixtures we need to be winning more of this season to break the top 4. Great to see Martinelli on the scoresheet given his preseason yield wasn’t as good. He saved it for when it matters.
I hope that doesn’t mean Gabriel Jesus wasted his.
Outstanding start against a team that is largely being underestimated in quality. This is a worthy representation of our excellent preseason form. This is a strong team. Now let’s see if we can put a start of the season run together.
Great win! COYG!!!
Not charming; largely solid display. Good three points; clean sheet.
The finese will come with more games together.
Odegaard with his worst match I can recall. Doucoure had him in his pocket.
Arteta was a bit late with his subs and that nearly cost us.
Palace was a lot more athletic in the midfield. I saw Partey’s name on the team sheet, did he play?
Anyway, SALIBA was immense. It wasn’t good enough overall, but happy for the 3 points.
Agree with all of that. I’m super satisfied with the result but let’s not delude ourselves into thinking the result couldn’t have gone the other way!
I’m looking forward to seeing the team develop over the season.
Obviously didn’t watch the first half where Odergaard was superb and together with Jesus our best player.
Firstly, very happy with the 3 points of course. But I wasn’t very impressed by the performance, especially in the second half. I am not convinced by Odegaard – very skilful, but too nice and not clinical enough.
Saliba’s good. That’s all
The away fans belting out the Vieira song to an otherwise silent stadium was the perfect end to the game.
Viera will get PTSD when he hears that song, coz Arsenal fans sing it mainly when they are beating Palace.
Well done lads. Paddy would have had this lot fired up – and indeed, Zaha did nothing but grizzle salt water everywhere all night. Tough fixture, everyone dug in and worked hard and we deserved the points. You can only beat what’s put in front of you – and we did that. Saliba was outstanding and owned the Palace front line. Martinelli took his goal well and Saka was full of energy. The new boys looked good too, so a very satisfying start to the season. Now let’s all laugh at those in the media who were predicting a Palace… Read more »
Yeah I can’t believe the skysport Lewis Jones predicted palace to beat arsenal… seriously I was pissed but I know this arsenal is ready for any team this season…
‘Jones Knows’
Does he? He knows fuck all. 😂
“You can only beat what’s put in front of you ”
Not the first time I read that in the comments. That usually comes up when we are not playing the top teams.
I thought partey was superb, so calm.
William Saliba
Good result from a performance that lacked … arh, fuck it. Three points in the bag and a great start to the season. #COYG
It was difficult a match but thank God we prevailed against a resilient Eagles. We move.
Saliba vs Haaland = battle of the season
Saliba will players in his pocket like he is playing Pokemon Go
I think the boos got to Partey today
I fucking hate palace.
Vieira has them playing like a rugby side. Like they always have.
Now lets smash them at them Emirates.
Saliba is obviously it, what a man… But..
Ben White.
Slotted into right back, against arguably one of the toughest opponents you can experience in the premier league. What a performance.
I love this team.