Arsenal overcame Takehiro Tomiyasu’s harsh second-half sending-off as the club captain, Martin Odegaard’s well-taken penalty was enough to secure a 1-0 win over Crystal Palace on Monday night.
The Gunners made it two wins from two at the start of the new Premier League season at Selhurst Park, as Odegaard’s 53rd-minute spot-kick proved the difference despite referee David Coote’s decision to red-card Tomiyasu for two quick bookable offences in the 67th minute.
It led to a period of sustained pressure on Aaron Ramsdale’s goal late on with Tyrick Mitchell firing over but the hosts were unable to unlock Arsenal’s stubborn defence as Mikel Arteta’s men ground out a victory which moves them level on points with Brighton and Manchester City at the Premier League summit.
Palace drop to 11th place having failed to follow up their slender 1-0 victory at Sheffield United on the opening weekend of the season and not capitalised on the man advantage afforded to them by Coote’s strict officiating to send off Tomiyasu for bringing down Jordan Ayew moments after being booked for time-wasting in taking a throw-in.
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Speaking after the game, Arteta said: “I loved it. I absolutely loved it. It’s a really difficult place to come. We played how we wanted to play 11 against 11, we dominated and created enough chances. We had two huge chances and normally he (Eddie Nketiah) puts them away but we never gave up.
“We continued playing the way we wanted to and Eddie earned us the right to go ahead with his action. Then we had to play the final half an hour with 10 men which is a context that we didn’t prepare but we had to adapt and the players were fantastic as I don’t think we gave anything away. I’m really happy.”
Crystal Palace’s next game is away to Brentford in the Premier League on Saturday, August 26.
The Eagles then travel to Plymouth in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday, August 29.
Arsenal are next in action on Saturday, August 27, when they host Fulham in the Premier League.
The Gunners then take on Manchester United at the Emirates on Sunday, September 3.
