Arsenal got the 2022/2023 Premier League campaign off with a 2-0 victory over Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park tonight.
Gabriel Martinelli’s strike and Marc Guehi’s own goal gave Arsenal the opening day win.
The Gunners started brightly, with new signings Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko getting heavily involved.
Centre-back William Saliba, making his first Arsenal appearance since joining them two seasons ago, was also impressive and was named the man of the match.
The Gunners continued their impressive pre-season form when Martinelli got them in front in the 20th minute, nodding home from a corner kick off Zinchenko’s headed assist.
It took Palace most of the first half to respond to Arsenal’s high tempo football, with Odsonne Edouard forcing Aaron Ramsdale into a save after Joachim Andersen’s header found him in the six-yard box.
The hosts, inspired by the full crowd, then poured forward in search of the equaliser but it was Arsenal who scored again late on.
Guehi inadvertently headed Bukayo Saka’s fierce cross into his own goal with five minutes left on the clock.
The second goal knocked Palace off their stride and Arsenal saw the game through without any further danger.
With the result, Mikel Arteta has now won 50 league matches with Arsenal after 98 games in charge, making him the second-quickest manager to reach 50 top-flight wins for the Gunners, after Arsene Wenger (94th game), according to Opta statistics.
