As any long-suffering Arsenal fan can tell you, the last few months have been very turbulent for the North London club.
After a terrible run of form with former manager Unai Emery in charge, Mikel Arteta has taken over as the new head coach of the club and looks like he could turn things around.
However, with Arsenal sitting in 10th place after 21 games, this looks like a difficult challenge for the new head coach.
The Gunners are only one point behind their next opponent Crystal Palace, who have had a mixed run of form, taking 1 win, 1 loss and 3 draws away from their last 5 premier league games.
This team should not be taken for granted, however with players like Wilfried Zaha, Christian Benteke and Jordan Ayew all able to capitalise on what has shown to be an extremely weak Arsenal defence.
The Emirates club will struggle to contain these players without a serious rethink of defensive strategy and how to control a game.
Historically the North London club has struggled to deal with teams that play a more direct form of football like Crystal Palace do, often preparing for a quicker, possession-based style of play.
However, recent performances against Manchester United and Leeds United have shown fans that Arsenal under Mikel Arteta can manage against smaller clubs with a more direct style of play in scrappy games.
As well as Arsenal’s recent impressive performances, Crystal Palace are suffering from a major injury crisis, losing 8 first-team players to injuries. All factors considered, it looks like it could be a hard-fought battle at Selhurst Park, but the belief is that Arsenal are the superior team and are the more likely team to win.
Given both team’s poor defenses, however, there will definitely be goals in this game and a lot of pressure on Arsenal keeper Bernd Leno.
