In England, Arsenal was playing their first-ever Friday Night Premier League game and hoping to make it through to the season better than last when they lost to the newly promoted side Brentford 2-0. Arsenal got the start of the new Premier League campaign with a victory, beating Crystal Palace 2-0 at Selhurst Park. Arsenal is far removed from the side that they were one year ago. Arsenal is under pressure to produce this season, having relinquished fourth place to Spurs the last term, and their Premier League campaign started as well as it could, picking up three points and keeping one clean sheet. Of course, beating Chelsea 4-0 and winning the Emirates Cup with a convincing 6:0 thrashing of Sevilla would mean nothing.
Arsenal kicked off their Premier League campaign with a stern 2-0 road victory over Crystal Palace, thanks to goals from Gabriel Martinelli and an own goal by Marc Guehi, who sadly turned the ball over in his net. Crystal Palace had chances to level the match during the interval, forcing Aaron Ramsdale into a power save. Still, he and Arsenal held firm and earned their first three points in the new Premier League season. Arsenal boss Arteta believes the victory will give his side a significant boost,
On the back of his performance against Palace in the first half, Gabriel Jesus was a great foil to Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal. Gabriel Jesus was the champion of the Premier League last season. Still, there is a feeling that his summer move from Manchester City to Arsenal might allow him to be released in new ways, and his first-half display against Palace supports that view. Left-back Oleksandr Zinchenko set up the opener in the first half, with forward Gabriel Jesus creating numerous chances. Defender William Saliba produced an almost impeccable display in his first start for Arsenal. Ukraine fullback Oleksandr Zinchenkos’s runs down the left were crucial to keeping Palace at bay in the first half. Still, the 21-year-old William Saliba stole the show with some solid defending alongside Brazil’s Gabriel.
When Arsenal returns to play on August 13 versus Leicester at home, they will want to capitalize on their success on opening day. They will play Bournemouth in its third Premier League match seven days later. Likewise, Crystal Palace will find it difficult to recover from their defeat when they play Liverpool on August 15, followed by games versus Aston Villa and champions Manchester City. I believe that Arsenal showed its capacity to persevere and win with a strong performance in a challenging setting.
