Arsenal will look to continue their winning run when they travel to Selhurst Park stadium to take on Crystal Palace on Wednesday.
The Gunners got crucial points at Stamford Bridge as they got past Chelsea 1-0. That has given them a small chance of making it into the Europa League next season.
Palace got a morale boosting win over Aston Villa on Sunday and will fancy their chances against the North Londoners. Also, this is going to be the final home game for Roy Hodgson who will step down from the manager’s position at the end of the season. The visitors will look to spoil the farewell party and grab the three points.
As for the team news, David Luiz will certainly miss out following his hamstring injury against Newcastle United. The other possible absentee is Granit Xhaka who is still recovering. There are no other injuries or suspensions.
The Gunners played a 3-4-2-1 formation at Chelsea but should be returning to their usual 4-2-3-1 against Palace. With Bernd Leno in goal, there is likely to be just one change in defence. Calum Chambers and Kieran Tierney will start as the full backs. In the centre, it will be Rob Holding and Gabriel with Pablo Mari dropping to the bench.
Thomas Partey and Mohamed Elneny will retain their place in central midfield. Both need to be at their best to give the attack some freedom to express themselves. The Ghanaian in particular should be able to provide a few defence splitting passes. Keeping Wilfried Zaha and Eberechi Eze quiet will be up to the duo. If they start flexing their skills, Palace will be more confident of getting a win.
In attack, Arteta will stick with Bukayo Saka on the right and it will be Nicolas Pepe on the left. Through the middle, it is going to be the goal scorer from last week, Emile Smith-Rowe. The Eagles do not have the strongest defence and if these three, start combining, it will lead to a lot of chances being created.
Leading the line would be captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang who has had a disappointing season. With a talented trio behind him creating chances, the forward will want to provide the finishing touch. If he gets on the scoresheet, Arsenal will definitely be collecting the three points.
Predicted Arsenal line-up against Crystal Palace:
Bernd Leno, Calum Chambers, Rob Holding, Gabriel, Kieran Tierney, Thomas Partey, Mohamed Elneny, Bukayo Saka, Emile Smith-Rowe, Nicolas Pepe, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
