Mikel Arteta 'really pleased' with Arsenal’s resilience after win over Crystal Palace

Arsenal win Premier League season opener 2-0 thanks to Martinelli's header and a Guehi own goal

CRYSTAL PALACE RATINGS: Vicente Guaita 7 – Looked untroubled for the majority, but he could not keep out Martinelli’s header and cannot be faulted for Guehi’s own goal. AFP

Nathaniel Clyne 6 – Looked nervous at times. Booked for a late challenge on Martinelli after 64 minutes. AP Photo

Joachim Andersen 9 – A strong performance from the centre-back who provided much-needed physicality that frustrated Arsenal. Impressed with long-range passes that continuously sent his team into attack. Almost assisted Edouard with a header across goal. AFP

Marc Guehi 6 – An uncomfortable night in defence. Inadvertently turned the ball into his own net after a Saka drove in a cross after 85 minutes. AFP

Tyrick Mitchell 7 – A disciplined performance. Got back well to put Saka under pressure after 72 minutes. AFP

Cheick Doucoure 7 – Worked hard and showed lots of endeavour in his first competitive appearance for Crystal Palace. Substituted after 75 minutes. Reuters

Jeffrey Schlupp 6 – A quieter night for the midfielder, and he was replaced by Will Hughes after 86 minutes. Reuters

Jordan Ayew 8 – Troubled the Arsenal defence in the second half as he looked to get on the end Andersen’s long passes. AFP

Eberechi Eze 7 – A lively performance. Had a great chance to equalise after 51 minutes but his shot was straight at Ramsdale. Taken off after 86 minutes. Reuters

Wilfried Zaha 7 – Looked dangerous after the break. Exceptional through ball to Eze who failed find the back of the net at 52 minutes. Shortly followed this with a darting run as he continued to trouble Ben White. PA

Odsonne Edouard 6– Had a great chance to equalise before half time but his stooping header was saved comfortably by Ramsdale. Substituted after 58 minutes. AP Photo

SUBS: Jean-Philippe Mateta (Edouard, 58) 6 - Looked to make things happen and had a shot saved and turned behind for a corner shortly after coming on. Reuters

Luka Milivojevic (Doucoure, 75) 5 - Did not make any impact on the game after coming on for Doucoure. Reuters

Malcolm Ebiowei (Eze, 86) N/A. AFP

Will Hughes (Schlupp, 86) N/A. AP Photo

ARSENAL RATINGS: Aaron Ramsdale 7 – A nervy performance. Invited unnecessary pressure onto his defence by taking too long on the ball. Good save after 41 minutes to deny Edouard. AFP

Oleksandr Zinchenko 8 – Came close to scoring his first Premier League goal after a strike was parried away by Guaita after 9 minutes. Headed the ball across the goal to assist Martinelli after 20 minutes in a well-worked set piece. Taken off after 83 minutes. AFP

William Saliba 9 – An impressive performance in the heart of defence on his competitive debut. Provided some crucial interventions, including two sliding tackles to stop Zaha. PA

Gabriel 7 – Overall the Brazilian dealt well with his defensive duties. AP Photo

Ben White 7 – A solid performance out of position at right-back. Booked after 62 minutes as he dragged down Zaha. AFP

Thomas Partey 6 – Offered a physical presence in midfield. Drove forward at 35 minutes before being brought down by Ayew. AFP

Granit Xhaka 7 – A confident performance in midfield. Booked for diving after 44 minutes after going down easily following pressure from Andersen. Reuters

Gabriel Martinelli 7 – Scored the first goal of the new Premier League season, heading home from close range and making up for his clear miss in the opening minutes. AFP

Bukayo Saka 7 – Regularly threatened in attack and repeatedly got back to help Ben White in defence. Blasted the ball high and wide from a tight angle after 69 minutes. Secured his side the victory as his cross was turned in by Guehi for an own goal. AFP

Martin Odegaard 6 – The Arsenal captain had a relatively quiet night, but showed some nice touches in the middle. Should have made it 2-0 after 60 minutes but failed to get a shot away, and he was replaced in the closing minutes of the game. PA

Gabriel Jesus 8 – Looked dangerous all night. Showed his quality with great footwork after just 3 minutes. Stole the ball of Guehi and could have had an assist after 60 minutes, but Odegaard failed to get a shot away. Replaced by Nketiah after 83 minutes. EPA

SUBS: Kieran Tierney (Zinchenko, 83) N/A – Made little contribution to the game after coming on after 72 minutes. AP Photo

Eddie Nketiah (Jesus, 83) N/A – Brought on for Jesus to see the game out. PA

Albert Sambi Lokonga (Odegaard, 90) N/A. AFP

Mikel Arteta lauded Arsenal’s resilience in their Premier League season-opening 2-0 victory over Crystal Palace but admitted much more was required from his attackers.

The Gunners walked away with all three points at Selhurst Park thanks to a first-half Gabriel Martinelli header and a late Marc Guehi own goal.

Arsenal dominated the opening exchanges but the Eagles challenged Arteta’s side after the restart as the visitors failed to create second-half chances in Gabriel Jesus’ competitive debut.

“I’m really pleased,” Arteta said. “Three points and a clean sheet against a really difficult opponent and a really tough place when they have the people going, and as we expected we were going to have tough periods during the match.

“You don’t win here without resilience. We experienced that last season [a 3-0 defeat], we started in a really different way than we did last season when we were here.

“It’s building that mentality and finding a way to go through those moments, maintain clean sheets in this league, is going to be vital to our success so hopefully that will breed some confidence as well in the team."

Friday's win was a marked improvement over their 2-0 loss to Brentford at the start of last season.

Martinelli nearly put Arsenal on the scoresheet early in the first half when the ball landed at his feet the edge of the six-yard box, but the Brazilian’s effort sailed well wide across the face of goal.

Redemption followed after he rose highest to nod in the opener in front of a crowded goal in the 20th minute.

The game was decided when Bukayo Saka’s 85th-minute cross connected with the head of the unfortunate Guehi.

One player who did catch the eye was debutant William Saliba who thwarted several Palace attacks in an impressive first outing in the Premier League.

“You don’t really see that,” Arteta said of the French defender. “At 21 years old in the Premier League, against these physical players and resolve the situation the way he’s done it, with that composure, that calmness and that presence. Big credit to the boy.”

Palace boss Patrick Vieira, meanwhile, was left to rue his side's lack of composure in front of goal, with Odsonne Edouard, Eberechi Exe and Wilfried Zaha all culpable.

The hosts’ best chance came through Eberechi Eze, who found himself in a one-on-one after receiving a pinpoint pass from Wilfried Zaha but scuffed his effort.

“Today I think the biggest difference is we didn’t take that chance or those chances we created to at least get a point tonight,” Vieira said.

“We had some really good momentum at times but the story of the game is that we didn’t score that goal to get back into the game. That is what the frustration is about today.”