SAKA (left) tries to get past Palace defender Tyrick Mitchell. PHOTO AFP
London: Mikel Arteta hailed Arsenal's ability to overcome Crystal Palace's second-half attack to make the perfect start to the English Premier League (EPL) with a 2-0 win at Selhurst Park. Arteta's men defended well after Gabriel Martinelli's header gave them the lead in the first half. Marco Guehi's late own goal sealed the three points for them after Odsonne Edouard and Eberechi Eze wasted Palace's best chances.
"Winning is the most important. Winning the first game allowed us to build confidence, strength and then talk about what we need to improve. "To win here you have to suffer. We did that and that's part of the mentality we want to build," Arteta said.
Arsenal lost 2-0 at Brentford on the opening night of last season, sparking their worst start to a league campaign in 67 years. But this time they were helped by an excellent pre-season performance and Arteta was rewarded with more than £100 million spent in the transfer market.
The arrival of Gabriel Jesus in the attacking ranks was the most significant transfer of the season and the Brazilian international almost scored in the fourth minute on his debut. Jesus fired through the center of the Palace defense and when his first effort was blocked, Martinelli could have done better but headed wide.
The visitors really controlled the game in the first quarter, but a standard was needed to score a goal. Another debutant Oleksandr Zinchenko headed the corner wide and Martinelli's header was enough to beat Vicente Guaita. Bukayo Saka's attempted cross was deflected into his own goal by Palace defender Guehi.
