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football.london writers give their thoughts on who Arsenal should start against Crystal Palace in the Premier League
After a number of years as a news reporter covering stories across London, Sam began working for football.london as a Content Editor in 2021. Overseeing Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham content, Sam also keeps a close eye on Liverpool and Crawley Town. Away from work Sam is either playing football, in a pub or on the golf course!
Arsenal welcome Crystal Palace to the Emirates Stadium on Sunday afternoon, looking again to hope to continue their run as league leaders. They remain three points ahead of Manchester City, who travel to Aston Villa, and four points above Liverpool, who face a trip to Brentford.
Mikel Arteta’s side have had the additional benefit of having two additional days’ rest compared to their opponents after their Tuesday night demolition of Atletico Madrid. Oliver Glasner, meanwhile, watched his side fall at home 1-0 to AEK Larnaca on Thursday.
Arteta did make a couple of changes for the win over Atletico Madrid; however, he could yet revert to the side that overcame Fulham last weekend. With that in mind, football.london’s writers have given their thoughts on who the Spaniard should select.
Tom Canton
Despite the squad's wealth of talent, picking which games Arteta should rotate or drop players in such good form is a real challenge. On Wednesday, they host Brighton in the League Cup, and it could, therefore, be there that he rotates more significantly.
The likes of Piero Hincapie, Ethan Nwaneri, Mikel Merino, Max Dowman, Cristhian Mosquera and Ben White might get more exposure. The Premier League is a far greater priority, and a full-strength side will, in my mind, be preserved.
The only change from Fulham I would make is to reward Gabriel Martinelli for his performance against Atletico. He replaced Leandro Trossard, but Riccardo Calafiori stays at left-back and Myles Lewis-Skelly returns to the bench.
Canton’s Arsenal XI vs Crystal Palace – Raya; Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Calafiori; Zubimendi, Rice, Eze; Saka, Gyokeres, Martinelli
Sam Truelove
By the time Arsenal face Crystal Palace at Emirates Stadium on Sunday, Liverpool would have already faced Brentford in the Saturday night game. Ultimately, the Reds' result does not matter as Mikel Arteta knows his side's chances of winning silverware this term are firmly in their own hands.
With Palace expected to go five at the back and offer width through Daniel Munoz and Tyrick Mitchell, the Gunners backline will need to remain firm against a side who have already scored 12 goals in the league this campaign. For that reason, Arteta will likely name the same defensive unit to the one which appeared at Fulham.
In midfield, Declan Rice should be given the opportunity to continue his impressive form, with Martin Zubimendi already looking at home in English football. The big call for me is whether Eberechi Eze should start against his former club. With the attacking nature of Palace, Mikel Merino could start this one, with Eze coming off the bench if needed.
Moving on to the front three and Viktor Gyokeres will want to build on the two goals he scored against Atletico Madrid, while Bukayo Saka will be eyeing his third goal in the league this campaign. Gabriel Martinelli has looked very sharp in recent weeks and could exploit the space in the left channel given Munoz's attacking nature.
Truelove's Arsenal XI vs Crystal Palace – Raya; Timber, Gabriel, Saliba, Calafiori; Zubimendi, Rice, Merino; Saka, Gyokeres, Martinelli
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