Mikel Arteta has a major selection headache ahead of Arsenal’s home clash with Crystal Palace on Sunday as centre-back William Saliba is expected to miss out through injury.
Arsenal aim to bounce back from Europa League heartbreak by extending their lead at the top of the Premier League to eight points with a win over Crystal Palace on Sunday.
The Gunners were dumped out of European competition by Sporting on Thursday night, having been forced to go the distance in extra time and penalties. As a result, there are fears that Mikel Arteta’s men could show some signs of fatigue when they welcome the Eagles to the Emirates.
For much of the season so far, it has been Arsenal who have had a game in hand over title rivals Manchester City, but come full-time against Palace, it will be the Gunners who have played a game more than Pep Guardiola’s side . Therefore, the hosts cannot afford any slip-ups.
How Arsenal will line up has dominated pre-match discussion, with the Gunners suffering two major injury blows during the defeat to Sporting, preventing them from going into this tie.
While Aaron Ramsdale will almost certainly take his usual position between the sticks, he is unlikely to have William Saliba ahead of him. The France international was withdrawn early from Thursday night’s game with what has been reported as a back injury and it looks like the centre-back will not recover in time for the clash with Palace.
As a result, Gabriel Magalhaes will likely be partnered at the back by one of Jakub Kiwior or Rob Holding. Never afraid to make a big decision, Arteta is likely to favor Kiwior despite the Poland international having made just one appearance for the club since his £21m move in January.
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Oleksandr Zinchenko is expected to enjoy his usual starting role at left-back, although the Ukrainian will no doubt venture all over the pitch throughout. At right-back, Ben White will certainly keep his place, although he could have replaced central defense had Takehiro Tomiyasu not also picked up an injury against Sporting.
Thomas Partey and Granit Xhaka will line up as a central midfield duo, hidden a little behind captain Martin Odegaard, who was probably Arsenal’s only real shining light last time.
That midfield trio has worked wonders this term and Arteta will see no reason to change that this late in the season.
They will certainly be flanked by wide duo Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka, both of whom have been among the targets of late. The pair have scored 12 and 10 respectively in the league this season, with five of the former coming in the last five league games.
Gabriel Jesus’ return to the league away at Fulham last weekend was followed by a first start in four months against Sporting and with the stakes as high as they are against Palace, the Brazilian expects to lead the line once again.
Expected Arsenal line-up vs Crystal Palace, (4-2-3-1): Ramsdale, White, Kiwior, Gabriel, Zinchenko; Partyy, Xhaka; Odegaard, Saka, Martinelli, Jesus