Arsenal enjoyed the lion’s share of possession in the early stages, moving the ball sharply and probing the Palace backline.
Benetton was first called into action, reacting well to get down and tip Alexsander Marciniak’s effort from distance behind, before gathering Ceadach O’Neill’s close-range volley moments later.
At the other end, Donte Martin latched onto a lofted pass in behind and squared across goal for Khyan Frazer-Williams, whose effort was denied by a diving Remi Lupinski, with Martin agonisingly close to converting the follow-up.
The hosts took the lead on 13 minutes when Saurap Sampang went to ground following a late challenge from Dylan Monk, with the referee immediately pointing to the spot. O’Neill stepped up to convert, despite Benetton going agonisingly close to getting a hand to it.
Palace almost responded instantly, as an aggressive high press forced an error from the Arsenal defence. Okoli pounced on the turnover inside the area, but his low drive was cleared off the line.
On the 20-minute mark, Arsenal survived sustained Palace pressure, with Walker-Smith driving into the box and cutting the ball back from the byline for Martin, who looked set to tap into an empty net, only for the danger to be scrambled clear.
There were then further appeals for a penalty as Martin’s flick inside the area struck Sampang’s arm, but the referee waved play on.
As the first half moved into its final third, Palace began to assert themselves and were rewarded with a deserved equaliser through Raihaan Anderson.
Frazer-Williams drove purposefully towards the edge of the area and, despite being crowded out by red shirts, managed to pick out Anderson to the left of the box. The forward dropped his shoulder, shifted inside, and curled a fine finish beyond the diving Lupinski into the far corner.
