Arsenal thrash Crystal Palace – who they had beaten just once in their previous eight attempts.
FT: Crystal Palace 0-2 Arsenal
![Arsenal boss Arteta happy with win over Crystal Palace [Sky Sports Screen Shot]](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/70fb8e_636f9a39e08c4bdb8d18fe85d383e75d~mv2.jpeg/v1/fill/w_980,h_570,al_c,q_85,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_auto/70fb8e_636f9a39e08c4bdb8d18fe85d383e75d~mv2.jpeg)
Gabriel Martinelli’s close-range header and a deflected strike from Saka handed Arsenal a win over Crystal Palace on Premier League open day.
Arsenal started the 2022-23 Premier League campaign in flying colours as Mikel Arteta's side beat Crystal Palace 2-0 at Selhurst Park.
Arteta’s Gunners continued the fine form they had during pre-season with an impressive performance that eventually saw Gabriel Martinelli find the net in the 20th minute with a close-range header, assisted by new signing Oleksandr Zinchenko.
Arsenal were too good for the homeside, who took 40 minutes to get into the game, with Odsonne Edouard forcing goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale to make a save.
Patrick Vieira’s Eagles stepped up a notch in the second half, feeding off the energy coming from a vibrant home crowd, but it was the north London side that got the goal again as defender Marc Guehi mistakenly nodded Bukayo Saka's cross into the net in the 85th minute.
'There were things to improve' - Arteta
Arteta to Sky Sports: "The most important thing is to win the first match, to build confidence and momentum, and then you can talk about things we need to improve - there were quite a few today, to be honest.
"Saliba was superb tonight. The way we started the game and played in the first half hour was superb - we should have scored more. We had to play the game in ways we didn’t want to as it went on because Palace are able to do that to you. To win here, you need to suffer - we’ve done it and that’s part of the mentality we want to build, to come to places like this and win.
"You need the right balance because if you come short in terms of physicality in this game, you’re going to be exposed. To have players at the back of the right size is really important in these kinds of matches. That’s the resilience we need to win football matches and see them through. Aaron Ramsdale did incredibly well from the one-on-one and won the game for us."
When asked about potential new signings, Arteta replied: "We are going to try. We have a few things going on now and if we get them it will be great - but for now, we have to work with the players we have."
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