Arsenal relied on Martin Odegaard’s 54th-minute penalty and an obdurate defensive effort when down to 10 men late on to secure a 1-0 win at Crystal Palace in the English Premier League on Monday.

Takehiro Tomiyasu was sent off in the 67th minute after collecting a second yellow card, forcing Arsenal to retreat to preserve its second straight victory to open the campaign. In the end, a penalty separated the teams, with Odegaard sending Sam Johnstone the wrong way from the spot after the Palace goalkeeper brought down Eddie Nketiah following a quickly taken free kick. Bukayo Saka usually takes Arsenal’s spot kicks but he handed the ball to Odegaard, the captain.

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Palace – unchanged from their own victory at Sheffield United a week ago – were fast out of the blocks, Aaron Ramsdale making a low stop to keep out an Eberechi Eze drive as the hosts built up a head of steam. Cheick Doucoure then flashed a speculative effort wide as Arsenal struggled to get a foothold on proceedings.

The visitors gradually started to see more of the ball and Eddie Nketiah was unfortunate to see his shot come back off a post after beating Sam Johnstone in the Palace goal. Arsenal is keeping pace with likely title rival Manchester City, the defending champion, by earning back-to-back wins.