Ten-man Arsenal maintained their winning start to the Premier League season with a 1-0 victory over Crystal Palace on Monday night.
Premier League
Result: Crystal Palace 0-1 Arsenal
Date: 21 August 2023
Venue: Selhurst Park
Takehiro Tomiyasu came in for his start in the Gunners line-up, with Jurrien Timber missing out as he will be sidelined for the next few months with a knee injury.
The home side got off to a lively start as Jordan Ayew went close with a low strike that was saved by Aaron Ramsdale, while Ben White did well to deny Odsonne Édouard a clear sight at goal minutes later.
The Gunners should have taken the lead in the 29th minute when Eddie Nketiah pounced on a poor clearance to go through on goal, however the striker could only hit the upright with Sam Johnstone to beat.
The chances continued to fall for the visitors and Nketiah, who was played through on goal by Declan Rice's neat pass but with only Johnstone to beat, he lifted strike over the crossbar.
Five minutes into the second half, the Gunners were awarded a penalty after Johnstone was deemed to have brought down Nketiah in the box. Martin Odegaard stepped up and calmly slotted home to give his side the lead.
Things turned sour for the Gunners in the 66th minute after they were reduced to ten men when Tomiyasu was given his marching orders for picking up his second yellow card on the night.
With Palace pushing for the equaliser, Gunners coach Mikel Arteta opted to make a defensive switch for the final 15 minutes as Nketiah made way for defensive midfielder Joriginho.
The hosts had a chance to pull level with four minutes left on the clock when Tyrick Mitchell did well to pick out Édouard, who failed to steer his header on target from close range.
That proved to be the final chance of the second half as the Gunners were able to see out the remaining stages to make it two wins from as many matches in the Premier League.
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