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Arsenal prevailed on the opening night of the 2022/23 Premier League season as they beat Crystal Palace 2-0 away from home.
The Gunners started excellently and Gabriel Martinelli should’ve given the visitors the lead in the opening five minutes but he dragged his effort wide. The Brazilian swiftly atoned, however, as he nodded home from the second phase of a corner.
Palace grew into the contest just before half-time, though, and they were the better side for much of the second half with Aaron Ramsdale making a couple of big saves to preserve Arsenal’s advantage.
The Gunners would double their lead in the closing stages against the run of play after Marc Guehi turned Bukayo Saka’s cross into his own net.
That handed all three points to Mikel Arteta’s side, and here are the Arsenal player ratings from Friday night’s victory.
Goalkeeper & Defenders
Aaron Ramsdale (GK) – 7/10 – Made two huge stops to deny Odsonne Edouard and Eberechi Eze, but he lacked composure in possession.
Ben White (RB) – 5.5/10 – Started well against Wilfried Zaha but the Ivorian eventually did get the better of White and he was booked as a result. Made a few sloppy errors in possession as well.
William Saliba (CB) – 9/10 – Special. To perform like that, in an environment like Selhurst Park, on your Premier League debut was nothing short of incredible. Wow.
Gabriel (CB) – 6/10 – Aggressive but occasionally looked a little flustered, especially when Palace went long. He certainly didn’t replicate the dominant yet controlled display of his partner.
Oleksandr Zinchenko (LB) – 6.5/10 – Brilliant in the first half as he registered his first Gunners assist. However, his physical and athletic drawbacks manifested in the second period.
Midfielders
Thomas Partey (DM) – 6.5/10 – Calm and steady at the base of midfield. Partey wasn’t spectacular on Friday night, but he did his job and screened the defence well.
Granit Xhaka (CM) – 6.5/10 – Started as he means to go on by picking up his first booking of the season with a dive. Otherwise, I thought he was disciplined defensively and useful in possession. Certainly wasn’t afraid to contribute higher up the field either.
Martin Odegaard (CM) – 6/10 – Produced some gorgeous touches but he’s still allergic to his right foot and he faded considerably in the second half.
Forwards
Bukayo Saka (RW) – 7/10 – Bright without starring. He looked sharp in the opening 45 minutes and was dangerous when attacking space after the restart. Had a huge say in the second goal.
Gabriel Jesus (ST) – 7.5/10 – Jesus started like a house on fire and he almost scored an incredibly early Goal of the Season contender in the opening exchanges. Palace couldn’t cope with him in the first half and while he saw less of the ball after the break, his intensity never waned.
Gabriel Martinelli (LW) – 7/10 – Quickly made up for his early miss and scored the opening goal of the new season with a close-range header. He was spritely throughout, and I thought his pressing was excellent.
Substitutes
Kieran Tierney – 6.5/10
Eddie Nketiah – 6.5/10
Sambi Lokonga – N/A