Arsenal matchwinner Aaron Ramsey admits they were fortunate with victory over Crystal Palace.
Ramsey struck a stoppage-time winner in a 2-1 victory for the Gunners.
"It was very difficult. They came out and defended really well and were very tough to break down," Ramsey told Sky Sports.
"They lost their manager earlier in the week but you'd never have known that the way they played. But that's irrelevant. The result is what we were looking for and we got the three points."
Ramsey now wants the Gunners to build on the opening win and deliver on the promise they showed last season, during which they led the Premier League table for a time before falling back after costly defeats to their main title rivals.
He said: "You saw last season we picked up a number of points against the teams outside the top four. Our main target this year is to improve our away form against the bigger teams.
"That's what let us down last season. If we had picked up a few points against the top four teams last season we would maybe have been champions. But that's the biggest thing we need to improve on."
