Arsenal-Crystal Palace 0-1 Arsenal
Even though we ended up with ten men, Martin Odegaard’s penalty was sufficient to defeat Crystal Palace and secure back-to-back victories to begin the season.
After Eddie Nketiah was taken down in the box by Sam Johnstone, the skipper scored from the spot on minute 53. Takehiro Tomiyasu was then sent off for two yellow cards, our first Premier League dismissal since May 2022.
But from then on, Mikel Arteta’s club maintained the lead with a strong comeback performance, starting the season with six points from six games.
Although the teams were welcomed with fireworks, fire, loud music, and cheerleaders, the early events lacked the same intensity. The home team had the better chances on goal, and after 15 minutes, Eberechi Eze forced Aaron Ramsdale into a routine save. Shortly after, Cheick Doucoure sent a 30-yard shot into the stands behind our goalie.
We steadily increased our tempo throughout the half, and on minute 28, after shifting through the gears, we produced the major opening for Eddie Nketiah to sprint into. Kai Havertz gained possession and threaded the ball between Eagles center-backs Joachim Andersen and Marc Guehi. He deflected both of their challenges and then slipped a shot past Sam Johnstone, only to have it hit the base of the.
Now that things were starting to turn around, Nketiah had another opportunity when Declan Rice and Odegaard combined to put the striker through one on one with Johnstone, but his dinked shot went over the bar. Four minutes remaining in the first half, the captain tried his luck from long range, dipping the ball past Johnstone before Gabriel Martinelli volleyed a Thomas Partey cross wide of the mark.
BIG DECISION
We maintained that intensity throughout the second half, and after eight minutes, we finally made the much-needed breakthrough. The Eagles turned off when we won a free-kick, and Martinelli’s quick thinking allowed him to slip Nketiah in on goal before Johnstone took him down. Odegaard was given permission to advance and send the home goalie the wrong way from 12 yards after a VAR check.
Before Havertz blasted a shot wide of the post, Partey had a chance to perhaps end the game, but in minute 67, the match took a turn for the worst. Jordan Ayew spun away from Tomiyasu, who had already been booked for delaying a throw-in, and he was given a second yellow card; however, replays revealed
From that moment on, we had to focus on maintaining our one-goal advantage while Palace attempted to use their man advantage. Mikel Arteta did his best to get us through the last quarter, but Gabriel and Jorginho were called on to calm the ship.
It worked, and even though Palace spent much of the remaining game in our half, we were able to limit them to dangerous periods. However, their best opportunity was lost when Odsonne Edouard mishandled a wonderful cross from Tyrick Mitchell and sent his header wide.
Even though there were seven minutes of stoppage time, we were able to deny Roy Hodgson’s team one last chance when Mitchell struck a half-volley over following a flurry in the box. When the final whistle blew, our players joyfully celebrated, thrilled that they had overcome hardship to win back-to-back games.
We became the third team in history to record 200 Premier League away clean sheets tonight, joining Manchester United (205) and Chelsea (204). We’ve maintained a clean sheet in 28 of our 68 away games (41%) under Mikel Arteta; the only Premier League record better than his is 8/19 – 42% – minimum of five games – under Bruce Rioch.
For the first time since a run of three victories between October 2013 and August 2015, we have now won consecutive away league games against Palace. Additionally, we are currently undefeated in 13 straight London derbies in the competition (W11 D2).
When Vitesse faced De Graafschap in the Eredivise in May 2019, Martin Odegaard converted his first penalty kick in a league match. He is, in fact, only the third player—after Harry Kane and Erling Haaland, both with 16 goals—to have scored at least 10 Premier League goals away from home since the start of the previous campaign.
Roy Hodgson has only won their first home league game of the season once in 11 Premier League seasons since 2013–14 (W1 D2 L8). This was their first league loss at Selhurst Park since they returned in April (P5 W3 D2 prior to today).
Tonight, Bukayo Saka made his 82nd straight Premier League appearance for us, matching Paul Merson’s club record in the tournament.