arsenal midfielder aaron ramsey scored in stoppage time to help his side defeat crystal palace and provide the title contenders a winning start in their opening game of the premier league season.
Managerless palace looked set for a point but had forward jason puncheon sent off for a second offence in the 89th minute before ramsey pounced.
The visitors took a shock first-half lead when central defender brede hangeland headed in on the 35th minute, but arsenal equalised just before the break when laurent koscielny nodded home from alexis sanchez's free-kick ten minutes later, the bbc reported.
Despite kicking off their premier league challenge with a win, it was an inauspicious start having barely made palace keeper julian speroni work for his salary, because apart from the two goals, the only other time the palace stopper was called to save his team was when he pushed away jack wilshere's drive in the first half.
Wenger might point to the fact he did not have his full squad available for the opening match as a reason for the below-par display, as only five of the many who spent their summer in brazil started the match.
Wenger said that palace made it very difficult, as they defended very well and took their first opportunity. He added that after the first goal they made it very tight, they were physically very strong and arsenal needed to keep going.
More From This Section
Wenger said that arsenal's desire got them through, adding that if one looks at the results, no home team won, they were the only one so it shows in the first game it is not easy to win.
Palace caretaker manager keith millen said that he would like to continue, as he enjoys being in charge. He added that whether it's the right time or not he would speak to the chairman the day after the match.
