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Arsenal fans were unhappy with their new club captain Martin Odegaard's display against Crystal Palace, despite winning the clash 2-0. The Gunners won their opening clash of the 2022-23 Premier League campaign at Selhurst Park on Friday, August 5.
They took a deserved early lead after new signing Oleksandr Zinchenko set up Gabriel Martinelli for the opener, following a well-worked corner routine.
Mikel Arteta's side were extremely impressive in the first half but came under pressure towards the end of the game from the hosts. However, the visitors held firm and secured the in five minutes from time when Marc Guehi diverted a Bukayo Saka cross into his own net.
Arsenal comprehensively avenged last season's shocking 3-0 defeat to Palace. The loss started a severe decline in form towards the end of their campaign last season, which ultimately cost them a Champions League place.
Despite their impressive victory away at their London rivals on Friday, supporters were unimpressed by Odegaard's individual performance. The 23-year-old was named the club's permanent captain earlier this week following an impressive 18 months at the club following his move from Real Madrid.
The Norwegian had a glorious opportunity to kill the game midway through the second half, but inexplicably chose to pass rather than shoot.
Odegaard has also been accused of taking too many touches and overplaying it. Some Arsenal fans took to Twitter to criticize the attacking midfielder following the full-time whistle:
Mikel Arteta believes Arsenal still have room for improvement despite impressive victory
With the additions of William Saliba, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Gabriel Jesus, Arsenal looked much more robust. Despite the hosts being on top in the second half, Arteta's side held firm for a clean sheet.
Saliba was named 'Man of the Match' for his performance after finally making his long-awaited debut for the north London club. He has spent the last three seasons on loan at Ligue 1 clubs.
Following the victory at Selhurst Park, Arteta was asked for his thoughts on the clash by Sky Sports, to which he replied (as quoted by BBC Sport):
"The most important thing is to win the first match, to build confidence and momentum, and then you can talk about things we need to improve - there were quite a few today, to be honest."
Praising Saliba, Arteta said:
"Saliba was superb tonight. The way we started the game and played in the first half hour was superb - we should have scored more. We had to play the game in ways we didn’t want to as it went on because Palace are able to do that to you. To win here, you need to suffer - we’ve done it and that’s part of the mentality we want to build, to come to places like this and win."
