Martin Odegaard’s penalty at the start of the second period was enough for Arsenal to get the three points and make it back-to-back wins in the new Premier League season.
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Arsenal could not have hoped for a better start to the new season than the one they are currently enjoying. The Gunners started the campaign with a penalty shootout win over Manchester City in the Community Shield and followed it up by beating Nottingham Forest 2-1 on the opening Premier League weekend. Then they saw out Crystal Palace despite going down to 10 men. Takehiro Tomiyasu was sent off for two bookable offences midway through the second half.
However, Martin Odegaard’s penalty at the start of the second period was enough for Arsenal to get the three points and make it back-to-back wins in the new Premier League season. One of the players who played an important role in the win was their big-money summer signing Declan Rice. After the match, Rice went into detail to explain how they held on to the lead despite going down to 10 men.
“Before the game we knew how big coming to Selhurst Park is, especially at the start of the season. We needed to keep the momentum going, up until when we went down to 10 men we were in complete control, dominated the game, passed the ball so well, and should’ve been two-up in the first half. To score in the second half was really nice and then to hold on with the resilience we showed was perfect,” he was quoted as saying by Arsenal.com after the game.
“If you looked on the pitch, everyone is driving each other. We went into a back three, and the lads didn’t stop talking, Jorgi came on and he was brilliant, he kept pushing and demanding. It’s about seeing the game out. They suck the goals in behind the goal here, and they’re a full force when they’re at it so to nullify them and not let them score tonight on their first home game of the season was a big plus.”
Rice was a subject of interest from many clubs in the past, however, it was Arsenal who won his services in the summer. It has been a couple of months since he moved to the Emirates Stadium. Speaking about his time with the Gunners till now, Rice said, “I take it every day as it comes. I keep trying to listen, trying to focus, building relationships with my teammates on the pitch, and obviously doing what the manager wants of me. I think if I stick to those plans I’ll be just fine in an Arsenal shirt.”
“I can’t speak highly enough of the club, the energy around the place, the feel-good factor of the fans, you can just feel it. When we’ve come out for the warm-up, it’s pretty much already full and at the end they’re singing the manager’s name. They’re buzzing with the three points, and so are we as players. We’ve got to keep doing that. Six points after two games, it’s a good start and we’ve got to keep pushing.”
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