Arsenal will lock horns with Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park on Monday night, hoping to pick up a win and maintain their position in the top four of the Premier League table. The Gunners will be heading into the contest on the back of a narrow 1-0 win over Aston Villa, whereas the Eagles recorded an emphatic 4-0 victory over Everton in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup competition.
Team News
Takehiro Tomiyasu (calf), Bukayo Saka, and Aaron Ramsdale remain doubtful for the upcoming clash.
“I think it will be close. He’s been training more and more. He has the boys back now, so he will be joining some sessions this week, and let’s see how it is. He had a recurring injury, but in the other calf, which was a strange and difficult to predict.” – Mikel Arteta revealed when asked about Tomiyasu’s fitness levels.
“Bukayo is feeling good, he’s training today hopefully, if he is still feeling as he was yesterday and Aaron is a doubt. He’s still feeling not great. He hasn’t trained yet so we don’t know what he will be able to do on Monday.”
“He wanted to play against Aston Villa but it was a significant injury and he had to take his time. The physios are doing everything they can to make him available but we will see in the next few days when he starts to do more real training.”
Arteta will probably opt for the 4-2-3-1 formation with a couple of tweaks from the last game, as Gabriel Martinelli looks likely to make his way back into the starting eleven.
4-2-3-1 Arsenal Predicted Lineup Vs Crystal Palace
Defence
Bernd Leno might continue to operate between the sticks for the upcoming away encounter. The German shot-stopper would hope to put up a strong performance and secure a clean sheet on Monday.
Gabriel will continue to form the centre-half partnership with Ben White at the heart of Arsenal’s backline.
Kieran Tierney is a guaranteed starter at the left-back position, whereas Cedric Soares might fill in on the other flank as the right-back. The duo would be looking to stretch the opposition backline and create meaningful chances for the front-men.
Midfield
Granit Xhaka and Thomas Partey will fulfil the holding midfield positions, with the former occupying a more defensive role. Martin Odegaard will slot into the attacking midfield role.
Odegaard will be accompanied by Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka and on either side, playing on the left and right-wing, respectively.
Attack
Alexandre Lacazette will lead the line for the visitors against Crystal Palace on Monday. The French striker will fancy his chances of finding the back of the net when he faces off against the Palace defence that has kept three clean sheets in their last five matches across all competitions.
Eddie Nketiah will have to settle for a place on the bench, but he might be called upon in the latter stages of the game if needed.
