Mikel Arteta scored and was then sent off as Arsenal beat Crystal Palace 2-0 this afternoon.

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The hosts went behind just after the break to an Arteta penalty before the Spaniard was sent off. They created several good chances after that but Olivier Giroud made the points safe for the Gunners late on.

There were few chances for either side in the first half, although the best ones fell to Palace in a five-minute spell when Wojciech Szczesny had to deny Marouane Chamakh and Adlene Guedioura.

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A minute into the second half, the visitors were awarded a penalty when Guedioura brought down Serge Gnabry. Arteta made no mistake from the spot and put Arsenal ahead.

The midfielder's day got a lot worse 17 minutes later when he brought down Chamakh. There was still a fair bit for the Palace striker to do but referee Chris Foy decided it was a clear goalscoring opportunity and showed Arteta a red card.

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Palace put Arsenal under pressure thereafter and only some good goalkeeping from Szczesny prevented them from levelling the score.

With a few minutes remaining, Giroud made the game safe, heading in Aaron Ramsey's delicate cross.