A penalty by captain Martin Odegaard was enough to hand 10-man Arsenal a narrow 1-0 victory over Crystal Palace in the Premier League on Monday.

Odegaard’s penalty in the second half at Selhurst Park put Arsenal on track to win for the second time in a row.

But Mikel Arteta’s team had to work hard to keep the points after Japan defender Tomiyasu was sent off for a second yellow card in a controversial way in the middle of the second half.

Tomiyasu got a yellow card for taking too long over a throw-in before he was sent off for barely touching Jordan Ayew.

Arteta was happy that Arsenal didn’t give up their lead as they moved up to third place, behind leaders Brighton and second-placed Manchester City on goal difference.

“Great win. I’m so happy. To play 30 minutes away from home with 10 men is extremely difficult,” Arteta said.

“Some players were suffering physically. The subs were magnificent, they knew what they had to do.

“Today we had a difficult one, we overcame it and it will make us better.”

Frustrated by Tomiyasu’s first booking for time-wasting, Arteta added: “This is the standard. I think it was eight seconds. We might have to play with a stop watch.”

After their late-season collapse last year, which gave City the title, the north Londoners were expected to mount a strong title challenge. They look ready for the fight after building on their opening weekend win against Nottingham Forest.

Even though they haven’t played their best football yet, this could be a big step towards winning their first championship since 2004.

Last season, Arsenal had the best away record in the Premier League. They also kept the most clean sheets on the road with 10.

As Arteta’s team held off Palace’s last push, they looked like they were back on the road.

Arsenal’s new custodian David Raya, who is on loan from Brentford, was on the bench as a substitute. This put the spotlight on Aaron Ramsdale, who is fighting to keep his place on the team as an England international.

Ramsdale took on the challenge with a confident performance right from the start, when he blocked Eberechi Eze’s long-range shot.

Arteta copied City manager Pep Guardiola’s strategy of telling a defender to move forward whenever they have the ball by putting Thomas Partey at right back and letting him play in his preferred midfield position.

This gave Arsenal control of the ball, but Eddie Nketiah, playing in place of Gabriel Jesus, couldn’t make their first-half pressure count.

The 24-year-old missed a good chance when he easily avoided Joachim Andersen but then hit the far post with his shot when he only had to beat Sam Johnstone.

VAR didn’t give Palace a penalty when William Saliba slid into Jordan Ayew from behind.

Again, Nketiah wasted the ball when he chipped the ball over from just six yards out after Declan Rice found the forward who was alone.

Arsenal kept their cool, and Odegaard’s hard shot from 25 yards out forced Johnstone to make a great save.

Odegaard wouldn’t be stopped again. In the 54th minute, the Norwegian scored from the penalty spot to reward Arsenal’s strong play.

Gabriel Martinelli’s quick free kick woke up Palace, and Nketiah went around Johnstone before the keeper brought him down. Odegaard’s ice-cool penalty sent Johnstone in the wrong direction.

When Johnstone blocked Partey’s shot from the edge of the area, it looked like Arsenal would win easily.

But in the 67th minute, Palace got a glimmer of hope when Tomiyasu was sent off for a slight push on Ayew that VAR did not review because it was a second yellow card.

When Eze went down after Partey touched him, but his claim for a penalty was turned down, Palace’s anger grew.

Odsonne Edouard missed Palace’s best chance to tie the game when he headed Tyrick Mitchell’s cross wide. It was a tense finish.

Mitchell also missed a chance when he shot wide from six yards out as Arsenal held strong.