- The season opener saw Arsenal go into Selhurst Park and calmly handle Crystal Palace by a score of 2-0.
- Picks were split between our seven competitors 4-3 in favor of the victors.
- Andrew had the ignominy of having the lowest score on opening day as Palace's Odsonne Edouard was fairly wasteful up top for the Eagles. He lost the ball more times (9) than he attempted passes (7) and finished on a 6.1 rating.
- Jeffrey Schlupp had a difficult time trying to unlock Arsenal's backline with a final ball, misplaying all three of his long passes. Scott's campaign to repeat began with a 6.8 rating from the midfielder.
- Palace's best scorer in the Challenge was Ryan's pick Wilfried Zaha. The Ivorian was in motion for the full 90 minutes against the Gunners winning 11 of 20 ground duels and making three key tackles tracking back to earn a 7.1.
- Having missed the initial kickoff, Matt made things up with a productive eleven minutes from Arsenal substitute Kieran Tierney. The Scottish left back would come on in the 83rd minute for another Pick One selection, Oleksandr Zinchenko, and win both of his ground duels, make a clearance, and two defensive third tackles for a 6.8 output.
- Gabriel Jesus was the most selected man in FPL history so it is no surprise he garnered at least one selection in the Pick One Challenge to kick off the season. Pavli handed the Brazilian his first selection in an Arsenal shirt and while he didn't even register a shot on goal, his perfect dribbling record (6/6) and eight ground duels won put him on a solid 7.0 to begin the year.
- Our Euros Pick One winner re-entered the chat as Mike went with Arsenal's Martin Odegaard. Similarly to Jesus, the Norwegian #10 didn't directly contribute to any goals but was plenty influential in terrorizing Palace captain Marc Guehi in central defense. He ended his 89 minutes of run with a 7.1 rating.
- But our top scorer of the day was Trevor with the aforementioned Oleksandr Zinchenko. The "other" summer transfer from Manchester City set up Gabriel Martinelli for the opening goal and had three pass interceptions. His 7.5 was the best one could have done with an Arsenal selection.
- However, Crystal Palace's Joachim Andersen was your day's optimal scorer with a 7.9. While his teammates in defense were routinely roasted, the Danish international was stout in defense making nine clearances, six tackles, and completing 88% of his 104 passes trying to give his side a boost out of the back.
Image Credits: Player Photos (Sofascore)