In the face of adversity with a 10-man team, Arsenal stood resilient against Crystal Palace and PGMOL, securing a 1-0 victory.

After the game, manager Mikel Arteta expressed his satisfaction with the team’s performance, highlighting their growth and versatility in adapting to the match’s challenges.

• Arsenal secure a crucial 1-0 victory against Crystal Palace despite playing with 10 men.
• Manager Mikel Arteta praises the team’s adaptability and resilience in challenging match situations.
• Controversial sending off of Takehiro Tomiyasu raises questions about football’s new rules.

At Selhurst Park, the Gunners found their breakthrough when Martin Odegaard confidently dispatched a penalty, awarded following a foul on Eddie Nketiah by Palace’s keeper, Sam Johnstone.

This goal came as a reward after Arsenal’s dominant display during the first half when they could, and perhaps should have scored two.

However, the match took a challenging turn for Arsenal after Takehiro Tomiyasu was shown two yellow cards in quick succession.

This left the Gunners a man down, forcing them to switch their strategy to a more defensive posture for the remainder of the match.

During his post-match interview with Sky Sports, Arteta shared his thoughts on the team’s performance and the challenges they faced during the match.

“I love to win like this. I love, first of all, the way we played the first half and the situations that we created against a team that is so difficult. I think they were ranked first in terms of what they conceded in open play. And we dominated the game,” Arteta remarked.

“We conceded nothing. And in the second half, we have to play the game after they score the goal. Obviously, they’re going to come out and we’re going to have more spaces. That game we didn’t play because we have to play with 10 men but even at 10 men again we didn’t concede and we read the game really well, competed extraordinarily well and I’m so happy for the team to be able to respond to different contexts in a positive way and win the game.”

When asked about the team’s reactions and celebrations, Arteta responded, “It shows how much we wanted. And when you see the players on the bench, the way they come on, when you talk to them, the face that they have to come here and help the team, they were magnificent, they changed the dynamic of the game. And I thank you so much to them because they really contributed to winning the game.”

Arteta’s comments also touched upon Tomiyasu’s controversial sending off. While he stated his openness to understanding the decisions, he voiced concerns about the clarity of new rules in football and how they’re communicated.

“The new rules are one thing,” Arteta said. “The new rules that I don’t know where they are, they haven’t communicated, that’s something very different. But we will adapt. Today we had to win it in this context and we’ve done it.”

Discussing the potential challenges referees might face with timewasting, Arteta wittily remarked, “It’s going to be very difficult for us. I guarantee you we have to play with 10 or maybe with 9 or with 8 because, depending where we put the standards and the level, we can maybe play eight against eight. It can be very entertaining.”

When speaking about the team’s performance with a full 11 players on the pitch, Arteta expressed his pleasure, noting, “Very impressed. This is what we want. Keep developing and earning the right to win the games the way we played.

“It’s really difficult. They are really good at frustrating you, at shifting across and forcing you to make mistakes and then they are really good in transition. We didn’t allow much of that. We are growing, we are better.”

Finally, commenting on Declan Rice and his role change during the game, Arteta praised his adaptability. “I thought he was fantastic today. He really dominated the game. We asked him to do something new, he’s done it in a different club, but we asked him to do it in a different way. I think he was fantastic today.”