It was 24 degrees in South London as kick-off approached on the first date that the English top tier had ever kicked off. This was a parched kind of heat, the grass a scorched white, the sky a deathly blue. The English summer has at least a sense of irony. To avoid the Gulf sun, the Premier League will instead play through a heat wave in England. Still, it was a fun, cool start to the season. If last week’s Community Shield felt like a visitation of sorts, football re-imagined as a 90-minute Sopranos dream sequence, there was an intimate chatter to it. London derby. A densely decorated system manager. That harsh summer sun. Maybe this was true after all. It’s a question that could also apply to Arsenal in a season that will define Mikel Arteta’s job at this point. They started with a bold initial 11, the kind of 11 heard in fan chats, the hopeful 11, the cake for breakfast 11. Saliba! Martinelli! No filler! Except maybe Granit Xhaka! But that’s okay, he’s good now too! At the end of a hard-fought 2-0 win, a scoreline that didn’t reflect Crystal Palace’s resilience between goals, it felt like something was stirring here. Gabriel Jesus was good. Oleksandr Zinchenko was good for a while. William Saliba was very good and will attract attention. Saliba made seven disposals without ever having to make a tackle. His passage was steady. He didn’t look flustered or even too tired until the end, a step up from the painful displays of Arsenal’s centre-backs in the past. He went through it, playing things out a few seconds earlier inside his head. That’s good. Where was he again? If the game was reassuringly lively, for day one viewers there were some worrying developments in Sky Sports’ coverage. Before kick-off, Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher were sent in to do vox pops with the fans, a step up from going out to fetch some milk, but reduced the role of pundit. Why not go all the way and just stick them in a pub somewhere? Oleksandr Zinchenko gets away from Jordan Ayew during an assured debut. Photo: David Klein/Reuters Gaz and Karra did their best. But frowning dudes in replica shirts have plenty to offer outside of the paywall. Forensic, graphic content is what users pay their subscribers for. Then there was the strange, claustrophobic prospect of Patrick Vieira being forced to utter breathless platitudes at half-time. This was unpleasant for all concerned. Vieira doesn’t want to do that. It’s not part of the show at that stage. This is still not American wrestling. Stop over-producing this thing. The game is good. Trust it. Both of these teams were good, Arsenal from the start. Gabriel Jesus did something brilliant with three minutes left, stealing the ball 40 yards from goal and creating a nutmeg and a cross. For a long time those pink shirts, the color of heat-damaged cured ham, you found neat little triangles on the turtleneck. Zinchenko was excitingly mobile, taking more touches in the first half hour than anyone else on the pitch. He had a hand in the opening goal, finding five yards of space with a looping run from the edge of the box. Turn the ball back. Martinelli waved in. Jesus was also quick on his feet and desperate to dribble and turn. He has exactly what Arsenal need: pressing, edge, power. Maybe people have forgotten how good he is, or how good he should have been. Between them, Jesus and Martinelli had eight dribbles and four shots in the opening half hour of the season. They played together for Brazil against Japan in Tokyo in June. They should be so good. Palace have been depleted by injuries and player losses. Expectations are low, which can be a useful place to be, but Vieira really seems to know what he’s doing and which players to trust. They pressed Arsenal back either side of half-time and used Wilfried Zaha as a weapon against Ben White. But it was also an opportunity for Saliba to show his skills. Plus, Arsenal have Saka, who scored the second goal, forcing Mark Gwehi to divert a fierce low cross into his own net. For Arteta the trajectory is clear from here, a time to make the investment in time and resources. But they have a style of play and a plan. The shadow of the great Arsene has passed. The flaws here are the flaws of this team, the strengths that Arteta has grafted onto. Whisper it, but that was actually very encouraging.
