Arsenal on Monday managed to beat a valiant Crystal Palace side at Selhurst Park to kick off their Premier League journey on a winning note. The victory came despite being reduced to a 10-man squad following an unfortunate red card send-off for Takehiro Tomiyasu in the second half.
Playing in front of the rival home crows, it was skipper Martin Odegaard’s penalty spot early in the second half sling with some resolute defending to ensure the 10-man Gunners side held on for a gritty win against Crystal Palace. The lucky penalty spot came after Eddie Nketiah was fouled by Crystal’s goalkeeper Sam Johnstone in the 53rd minute.
Crystal Palace got their first potential opportunity at equalizing in the 57th minute through a free-kick. Eze got there before Saliba who dangled a leg. Eze is over it, 22 or 23 yards out fairly central. This was a good chance for Palace to get back into the game, but it did not convert, leaving the home crowd disappointed.
Some more controversy ensued when Crystal Palace’s appeals for a potential penalty spot were denied in the 73rd minute. This happened after Eze skipped past Partey in the penalty area, but he did not fully extend his right leg towards the attacker and Coote decides there was not enough in it. The referee reviewed the foul via VAR check, but it did nothing to change the decision.
7 minutes of stoppage time was added to the second half, which saw Crystal Palace working the ball from side to side on the edge of the final third to try and get the equalizer. Eze fired a desperate long-range cross that ran straight to Ramsdale for an easy grab.
With half a dozen players throwing themselves at headers in the Arsenal penalty area, Crystal Palace came closest to converting but the ball dropped loose on the corner of the six-yard box and Ramsdale did well to palm the ball clear. Palace left-back Mitchel found the ball at his foot but blasted it over the bar, wasting a promising opportunity. Crystal Palace made one last attempt during the closing seconds of the match when youngster Rak-Sakyi sent in a cross that Ramsdale easily blocked off with his body.
Some on-field drama continued in the second half as Takehiro Tomiyasu was sent off in the 67th minute for two soft yellow cards in the same match. The first yellow was slapped for time-wasting over a throw-in, and the second came for a foul on Jordan Ayew which referee David Coote judged to be stopping a potential Crystal Palace breakaway.
It was an uphill task for Arsenal to play with a 10-man lineup away from home for the crucial last half hour of the match, but the Gunners maintained some solid defense work on the field to eventually walk away with a hard-fought win over Crystal Palace.
The match was also instrumental in the positioning of record signing Declan Rice, who moved into the club from West Ham United following a mammoth 100 million transfer deal. The former West Ham skipper made his on-field debut for Arsenal and was in spectacular form throughout the match. Enough to bag the “Man of the Match” award in the end!
