Arsenal is on top of the Premier League! Well…until the rest of the Premier League plays. Arsenal have beaten Crystal Palace 2-0 on the Premier League’s opening-day in a game that really should have been a draw.
Arsenal’s defense was very good today, only allowing 2 shots on goal on 10 total shots, they kept Palace off the score sheet, nearly doubled their London rivals in tackles, and cleared away any second chances that Aaron Ramsdale gave up. William Saliba was the standout in particular. He was a monster in the back-line, stopping nearly every Crystal Palace attack in its infancy. Arsenal may have the real deal in Saliba.
Nevertheless, it was Gabriel Martinelli who headed home a corner only twenty minutes into the game. Sixty minutes later, a Bukayo Saka’s deflected cross (which may go down as a Guehi own goal) rifled past Vincente Guaita to seal the win for the Gunners.
However, aside from those two moments, this game was all Crystal Palace. The Palace’s strikers had numerous chances that forced some great saves out of Aaron Ramsdale, and they could have just easily ended up in the back of Arsenal’s net. Plus, Crystal Palace dominated the possession of the ball with 56%, had 100 or so more passes, and had an 86% pass accuracy (4% better than Arsenal). That can’t be good enough for a Mikel Arteta’s (Pep Guardiola’ prodigy) team.
Even though the game was at Selhorst Park, Arsenal still should have out-possessed and out-passed Crystal Palace. The two teams even had the same number of shots (10) and shots on target (2). Yet, Arsenal was clinical while Crystal Palace was wasteful. That is what defines Top-4 challengers versus relegation-fighting teams.
Still, Arsenal should have done better with the chances they had. Especially Gabriel Martinelli. I know he scored the opening goal of the game, but how did he miss that chance at the 4–5-minute mark? IT WAS A WIDE-OPEN GOAL! Like I mentioned with Gabriel Jesus, Arsenal will need their strikers to be clinical if they want to eclipse Tottenham, Chelsea, and Manchester United for a Champions League spot.
Anyway, I thought that the new signings Oleksandr Zinchenko and Gabriel Jesus played well. Coming from a similar system (Man City), they have fit into Arsenal’s lineup and system really well.
This was a great win for Arsenal. Winning games that you should have drawn or lost always are a little sweeter than blowouts. Nonetheless, I still don’t see Arsenal being obvious favorites for the Champions League with the current squad. They’ll be in the Top-4 fight from now until Matchday 38 with United, Tottenham, and Chelsea.
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