{"id":924,"date":"2026-05-24T23:10:23","date_gmt":"2026-05-24T20:10:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/arsenal-start-as-champions-clinical-3-1-win-over-crystal-palace-at-selhurst-park\/"},"modified":"2026-05-24T23:10:23","modified_gmt":"2026-05-24T20:10:23","slug":"arsenal-start-as-champions-clinical-3-1-win-over-crystal-palace-at-selhurst-park","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/arsenal-start-as-champions-clinical-3-1-win-over-crystal-palace-at-selhurst-park\/","title":{"rendered":"Arsenal Start as Champions: Clinical 3-1 Win Over Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park"},"content":{"rendered":"

Arsenal kicked off their new Premier League chapter as champions with a controlled 3-1 victory over Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park, in a mood that felt more like celebration than a traditional league encounter.<\/p>\n

With both teams making significant alterations, the tone of the game was shaped by busy schedules and sharper priorities on the horizon. Palace arrived having already planned for a midweek Conference League final, while Arsenal were looking ahead to Saturday\u2019s Champions League showpiece. Because the Gunners had clinched the title earlier in the week, the contest carried a pre-season atmosphere, with the heat and scheduled drinks breaks adding to the relaxed feel.<\/p>\n

What happened<\/h2>\n
    \n
  1. Gabriel Jesus broke the deadlock in the 42nd minute, converting after he had earlier spurned two opportunities. He finished calmly to give Arsenal the advantage just before the interval.<\/li>\n
  2. Noni Madueke extended Arsenal\u2019s lead shortly after half-time, scoring from a familiar Arsenal set-piece pattern to put the result firmly in their hands.<\/li>\n
  3. Arsenal went on to secure their 26th league win of the season.<\/li>\n
  4. Crystal Palace pulled one back late through a header from Jean-Philippe Mateta, who found the net in the 89th minute after receiving Yeremy Pino\u2019s cross.<\/li>\n
  5. In stoppage time, Pino thought he had earned an equaliser, but the goal was ruled out because Evann Guessand, who was in an offside position, was judged to have interfered with the build-up.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Arsenal\u2019s team selection reflected the occasion and the workload ahead. Mikel Arteta made nine changes compared with the side that played Burnley, and included a starting debut for 16-year-old Max Dowman. Dowman became the youngest player to start a Premier League match, at 16 years and 144 days.<\/p>\n

    The match also had a special edge for Palace as Eberechi Eze returned to Selhurst Park for the first time since his \u00a367 million transfer away from the club. The England international was greeted warmly by supporters, with many referencing his FA Cup final heroics from the previous season.<\/p>\n

    Despite Arsenal\u2019s dominance, there was a brief worry when Madueke limped off with what appeared to be a hamstring problem. He did not look to be in serious distress, and he is expected to be assessed ahead of the next round of fixtures.<\/p>\n

    For Arsenal\u2019s travelling fans, the final score mattered less than what followed the whistle\u2014focused on the long-awaited Premier League trophy presentation after their title triumph.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Arsenal kicked off their new Premier League chapter as champions with a controlled 3-1 victory over Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park, in a mood that felt more like celebration than a traditional league encounter. With both teams making significant alterations, the tone of the game was shaped by busy schedules and sharper priorities on the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_yoast_wpseo_title":"Arsenal vs Crystal Palace: 3-1 Title Winning Start","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"Arsenal begin the season in style, beating Crystal Palace 3-1 at Selhurst Park with clinical finishing\u2014setting the tone for a busy","mma_seo_breadcrumb_text":"","mma_seo_breadcrumb_url":"","mma_seo_breadcrumb_hide_ui":"","mma_seo_breadcrumb_labels":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-924","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","","category-sports"],"yoast_head":"\nArsenal vs Crystal Palace: 3-1 Title Winning Start<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Arsenal begin the season in style, beating Crystal Palace 3-1 at Selhurst Park with clinical finishing\u2014setting the tone for a busy\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/arsenal-start-as-champions-clinical-3-1-win-over-crystal-palace-at-selhurst-park\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Arsenal vs Crystal Palace: 3-1 Title Winning Start\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Arsenal begin the season in style, beating Crystal Palace 3-1 at Selhurst Park with clinical finishing\u2014setting the tone for a busy\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/arsenal-start-as-champions-clinical-3-1-win-over-crystal-palace-at-selhurst-park\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Zalebs\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-05-24T20:10:23+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Zibuyile Dladla\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Zibuyile Dladla\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/zalebs.com\\\/news\\\/arsenal-start-as-champions-clinical-3-1-win-over-crystal-palace-at-selhurst-park\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/zalebs.com\\\/news\\\/arsenal-start-as-champions-clinical-3-1-win-over-crystal-palace-at-selhurst-park\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Zibuyile Dladla\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/zalebs.com\\\/news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/6da1a9a659a2b9fb37587bf050637d1e\"},\"headline\":\"Arsenal Start as Champions: Clinical 3-1 Win Over Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-24T20:10:23+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/zalebs.com\\\/news\\\/arsenal-start-as-champions-clinical-3-1-win-over-crystal-palace-at-selhurst-park\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":412,\"commentCount\":0,\"articleSection\":[\"Sports\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-ZA\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/zalebs.com\\\/news\\\/arsenal-start-as-champions-clinical-3-1-win-over-crystal-palace-at-selhurst-park\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/zalebs.com\\\/news\\\/arsenal-start-as-champions-clinical-3-1-win-over-crystal-palace-at-selhurst-park\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/zalebs.com\\\/news\\\/arsenal-start-as-champions-clinical-3-1-win-over-crystal-palace-at-selhurst-park\\\/\",\"name\":\"Arsenal vs Crystal Palace: 3-1 Title Winning Start\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/zalebs.com\\\/news\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-24T20:10:23+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/zalebs.com\\\/news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/6da1a9a659a2b9fb37587bf050637d1e\"},\"description\":\"Arsenal begin the season in style, beating Crystal Palace 3-1 at Selhurst Park with clinical finishing\u2014setting the tone for a busy\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/zalebs.com\\\/news\\\/arsenal-start-as-champions-clinical-3-1-win-over-crystal-palace-at-selhurst-park\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-ZA\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/zalebs.com\\\/news\\\/arsenal-start-as-champions-clinical-3-1-win-over-crystal-palace-at-selhurst-park\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/zalebs.com\\\/news\\\/arsenal-start-as-champions-clinical-3-1-win-over-crystal-palace-at-selhurst-park\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/zalebs.com\\\/news\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Arsenal Start as Champions: Clinical 3-1 Win Over Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/zalebs.com\\\/news\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/zalebs.com\\\/news\\\/\",\"name\":\"Zalebs\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/zalebs.com\\\/news\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-ZA\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/zalebs.com\\\/news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/6da1a9a659a2b9fb37587bf050637d1e\",\"name\":\"Zibuyile Dladla\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-ZA\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/1f581f0bb57ed4fd97eeb8353242d5a3c12548c2ff26373e9e5be1e00d4fad05?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/1f581f0bb57ed4fd97eeb8353242d5a3c12548c2ff26373e9e5be1e00d4fad05?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/1f581f0bb57ed4fd97eeb8353242d5a3c12548c2ff26373e9e5be1e00d4fad05?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Zibuyile Dladla\"},\"description\":\"Zibuyile began her media journey as a sales intern at Mediamark (Kagiso Media) before moving into digital content creation for ZAlebs.com. Over four years, she helped evolve the platform from a simple blog into one of South Africa\u2019s leading independent entertainment news sites. Following ZAlebs\u2019 transition to Celebrity Worx in 2016, Zibuyile was promoted to Executive Editor, recognized for her sharp audience insight and ability to match editorial with branded content. Highlights of her time include a Bookmark Award nomination, judging TLC\u2019s Next Great Presenter, reporting from the MTV EMAs, and building partnerships with radio stations like YFM, Cliff Central, and Good Hope FM. Her editorial work also expanded to include fast-growing digital verticals\u2014such as lifestyle tech, online entertainment, and gambling-related content\u2014tailored to evolving reader interests and brand opportunities.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/za.linkedin.com\\\/in\\\/zibuyile-dladla-9a26628a\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/zalebs.com\\\/news\\\/author\\\/zibuyile-dladla\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Arsenal vs Crystal Palace: 3-1 Title Winning Start","description":"Arsenal begin the season in style, beating Crystal Palace 3-1 at Selhurst Park with clinical finishing\u2014setting the tone for a busy","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/arsenal-start-as-champions-clinical-3-1-win-over-crystal-palace-at-selhurst-park\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Arsenal vs Crystal Palace: 3-1 Title Winning Start","og_description":"Arsenal begin the season in style, beating Crystal Palace 3-1 at Selhurst Park with clinical finishing\u2014setting the tone for a busy","og_url":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/arsenal-start-as-champions-clinical-3-1-win-over-crystal-palace-at-selhurst-park\/","og_site_name":"Zalebs","article_published_time":"2026-05-24T20:10:23+00:00","author":"Zibuyile Dladla","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Zibuyile Dladla","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/arsenal-start-as-champions-clinical-3-1-win-over-crystal-palace-at-selhurst-park\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/arsenal-start-as-champions-clinical-3-1-win-over-crystal-palace-at-selhurst-park\/"},"author":{"name":"Zibuyile Dladla","@id":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/6da1a9a659a2b9fb37587bf050637d1e"},"headline":"Arsenal Start as Champions: Clinical 3-1 Win Over Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park","datePublished":"2026-05-24T20:10:23+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/arsenal-start-as-champions-clinical-3-1-win-over-crystal-palace-at-selhurst-park\/"},"wordCount":412,"commentCount":0,"articleSection":["Sports"],"inLanguage":"en-ZA","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/arsenal-start-as-champions-clinical-3-1-win-over-crystal-palace-at-selhurst-park\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/arsenal-start-as-champions-clinical-3-1-win-over-crystal-palace-at-selhurst-park\/","url":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/arsenal-start-as-champions-clinical-3-1-win-over-crystal-palace-at-selhurst-park\/","name":"Arsenal vs Crystal Palace: 3-1 Title Winning Start","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/#website"},"datePublished":"2026-05-24T20:10:23+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/6da1a9a659a2b9fb37587bf050637d1e"},"description":"Arsenal begin the season in style, beating Crystal Palace 3-1 at Selhurst Park with clinical finishing\u2014setting the tone for a busy","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/arsenal-start-as-champions-clinical-3-1-win-over-crystal-palace-at-selhurst-park\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-ZA","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/arsenal-start-as-champions-clinical-3-1-win-over-crystal-palace-at-selhurst-park\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/arsenal-start-as-champions-clinical-3-1-win-over-crystal-palace-at-selhurst-park\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Arsenal Start as Champions: Clinical 3-1 Win Over Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/#website","url":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/","name":"Zalebs","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-ZA"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/6da1a9a659a2b9fb37587bf050637d1e","name":"Zibuyile Dladla","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-ZA","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1f581f0bb57ed4fd97eeb8353242d5a3c12548c2ff26373e9e5be1e00d4fad05?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1f581f0bb57ed4fd97eeb8353242d5a3c12548c2ff26373e9e5be1e00d4fad05?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1f581f0bb57ed4fd97eeb8353242d5a3c12548c2ff26373e9e5be1e00d4fad05?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Zibuyile Dladla"},"description":"Zibuyile began her media journey as a sales intern at Mediamark (Kagiso Media) before moving into digital content creation for ZAlebs.com. Over four years, she helped evolve the platform from a simple blog into one of South Africa\u2019s leading independent entertainment news sites. Following ZAlebs\u2019 transition to Celebrity Worx in 2016, Zibuyile was promoted to Executive Editor, recognized for her sharp audience insight and ability to match editorial with branded content. Highlights of her time include a Bookmark Award nomination, judging TLC\u2019s Next Great Presenter, reporting from the MTV EMAs, and building partnerships with radio stations like YFM, Cliff Central, and Good Hope FM. Her editorial work also expanded to include fast-growing digital verticals\u2014such as lifestyle tech, online entertainment, and gambling-related content\u2014tailored to evolving reader interests and brand opportunities.","sameAs":["https:\/\/za.linkedin.com\/in\/zibuyile-dladla-9a26628a"],"url":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/author\/zibuyile-dladla\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/924","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=924"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/924\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=924"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=924"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=924"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}