Arsenal made a winning start to the season as 1 goal in each half gave them a 2-0 victory over Crystal Palace in the Premier League campaign opening game at Selhurst Park on 5 August.
First Half : 0 – 1
Second Half : 0 – 2
Scorer(s) : 20′ Martinelli, 85′ Marc Guehi (0G)
Assist(s) : 20′ Zinchenko
Here are the two team’s most notable moments during the game:
Crystal Palace
- Manager Patrick Vieira is an Arsenal legend and was appreciated by the fans from both teams throughout the game.
- All eyes were on the club’s 2 best players Wilfried Zaha & Eberechi Eze and the new signing, a 22-year-old midfielder, Cheick Doucoure who received his first team debut in the team’s first game of the season.
- Palace maintained most of the possession in the second half (73% ball possession) and controlled the game’s tempo. This is surprising as Arsenal is known to be the better/bigger side in the English Premier League.
- Marc Guehi‘s own goal gave Arsenal an extra 1 goal lead. Luck was not on their side.
Arsenal
- Long awaited return of 21-year-old William Saliba from his loan spell turned out positive for Arsenal as he was a solid rock at the back for the team’s first game of the season with the most number of headers and clearances won.
- 2 out of 3 new signings had their first team debut, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Gabriel Jesus.
- Zinchenko bagged his first assist on his debut and Martinelli bagged his first goal in the team’s first game of the season.
- Bukayo Saka‘s shot bounced off Palace’s Marc Guehi causing an own goal, leading to Arsenal’s second goal of the game.
- Arsenal now have 3 players with the same first names and they all hail from Brazil. Gabriel Magalhaes, Gabriel Martinelli and Gabriel Jesus.
- It wasn’t the best of games for Arsenal considering how well they performed in the pre-season friendlies but nonetheless a win is a win so 3 points in the bag for Arsenal.
Watch the highlights reel here:
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