We may be just two games into the new season, yet the manner of this victory for Arsenal possessed an air of significance.
They weren’t at their best but won. They were made to play the final 30 minutes with 10 men after Takehiro Tomiyasu picked up two yellow cards in seven minutes and still left Selhurst Park with three points.
What is it they say about football teams winning matches without being at their best?
Of course, there’s a long way to go before we can genuinely categorise Arsenal as Manchester City’s closest rivals.
But the signs are ominous. With their backs against the wall here at Crystal Palace they clenched their fists, stuck their chests out and stood tall.
Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard sent Sam Johnstone the wrong way from the penalty spot to give his side a second half lead
Referee David Coote had pointed to the penalty spot after Johnstone brought down Eddie Nketiah after racing from his goal
Arsenal’s players celebrated the final whistle after grinding out a hard fought victory after being reduced to 10-men
Even at this early stage, given the context, the victory felt crucial.
‘I love to win like this, even at 10 man we didn’t conceded. We responded, we never gave up,’ said Mikel Arteta.
‘We adapted to the sending off and won the right to win game by the way we played.’
For much of this clash, Palace proved a match for the Gunners.
But in the absence of the departed Wilfried Zaha and injured Michael Olise, the south London club lacked invention and creativity in the final third.
Without setting the world on fire, Arsenal were relatively comfortable until Tomiyasu’s sending off.
Even then – but for a couple of heart-stopping moments – Arsenal were able to keep Palace at arms length.
Arsenal’s narrow advantage had been threatened when Takehiro Tomiyasu was shown a red card for two bookable offences
Nketiah had been denied by the woodwork in the first half after the Arsenal forward shot goalwards from a tight angle
The Arsenal striker then scooped an effort over the crossbar with just Johnstone to beat following Declan Rice’s incisive pass
But while Arteta may reflect on this clash with a tinge of disappointment in that they couldn’t win by a larger margin, he’d have returned to north London heartened by the way his team scrapped their way to victory.
They carved out the first opportunity inside two minutes – Gabriel Martinelli’s shot blocked following a sustained sequence of possession from the Gunners.
That pattern continued during the opening exchanges; Arsenal popping the ball around with relentless verve as Palace chased shadows.
Not that Roy Hodgson would have been too alarmed by that point, of course.
He’d have been under no illusion of who would have the lions share of the ball here.
And after weathering the early storm, Palace eventually settled with their goal intact.
Who knows, had Ben White not produced a crucial block to deny Odsonne Edouard or if Aaron Ramsdale wasn’t equal to Eberechi Eze’s effort in the 17th minute then Palace may even have edged ahead.
Their attacking output will unquestionably sharpen once Olise, whose proposed move to Chelsea collapsed last week amid a messy backdrop of ‘tapping-up’ concerns behind the scenes, returns from a long-term hamstring problem.
Having lost attacking talisman Zaha on a free transfer to Galatasaray last month, the return of winger Olise cannot come soon enough for Hodgson.
Yet despite the apparent lack of a spark, Palace should have enough in the locker to cope without him in the short-term.
Much of that is down to Hodgson’s timeless skill of organising a football team and keeping them disciplined.
Arsenal survived Crystal Palace penalty appeals when Eberechi Eze fell in the box after under pressure from Thomas Partey
Eze appealed for a penalty but a VAR check stuck with referee David Coote’s on pitch decision to turn down the claims
Gabriel Magalhaes was brought on by Arteta to preserve their lead despite the defender being linked with a move away
Crystal Palace pushed for an equaliser in the closing stages of the match but Arsenal’s defence stood firm under pressure
Without vast sums of money to improve the squad, Palace know that Hodgson’s guile could yet be the club’s biggest weapon in avoiding a relegation battle this season.
But on Monday night, Arsenal eventually made their superior quality count.
Eddie Nketiah missed two golden opportunities to fire Palace ahead before the break.
First, he struck the inside of the post with a slide rule finish after neatly turning Joachim Anderson before scooping over the ball with just Sam Johnstone to beat following Declan Rice’s incisive pass.
So, with in mind, it wasn’t like Palace weren’t warned of what was to come as Arsenal took the lead through Martin Odegaard’s 54th minute penalty.
Johnstone should have no complaints; he was late in trying to divert the ball ahead of Nketiah, who duly crashed to the floor upon connection with his ankle.
Hope of a VAR reprieve for the Palace keeper were short lived, Jarred Gillet deciding Thomas Partey hadn’t committed a foul in the lead up to Johnstone’s ill-fated lunge.
Interestingly, it was Odegaard – and not recognised penalty taker Bukayo Saka – who stepped up to send Johnstone the wrong way.
Arsenal maintained their winning start to the Premier League season after preserving their clean sheet under pressure
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta celebrated the hard fought win at the final whistle after negotiating a challenging away trip
‘I had no clue, it’s about leadership of players and if they felt it was the right thing to do then fine. They have to make those decisions on the pitch,’ answered Arteta when asked whether Odegaard has taken over penalty duty.
Yet Palace continued to hang tough and were dealt a huge boost in the 67th minute when Tomiyasu was sent off for a second yellow card.
The Gunners will feel the contact was minimal, but Tomiyasu only has himself to blame – why he felt it was necessary to pull back Jordan Ayew when just seven minutes earlier he’d been booked for time-wasting, only the Japan international will know.
You’d imagine his manager, whose immediate reaction was to introduce centre-back Gabrie from the bench, will demand answers after his team was left to battle through with a numerical disadvantage.
Ayew missed a golden close range chance before Arsenal survived a VAR penalty check after Eze fell inside the box after under pressure from Partey.
But Arsenal, for all of Palace’s huffing and puffing, held on to maintain their 100 percent start to the season.
