Premier League: Gunners are Ready for a Reboot

Arsenal vs Crystal Palace

Arsenal open up this weekend’s fixtures with a home clash against Crystal Palace and it’s a game Mikel Arteta’s side can use to get their title push back on track.

The Gunners are desperate to avoid a fourth consecutive defeat and a third in the league; because that miserable run has seen them crash out of the FA Cup and left them fourth in the Premier League table.

Arsenal’s post-Christmas run started with a 2-0 loss at home to West Ham, and then Fulham dealt the Gunners a serious blow with a 2-1 defeat after Bukayo Saka had given Arteta’s men an early lead.

Roy Hodgson’s Eagles are in 14^th place, five points clear of the drop zone after beating Brentford 3-1 last time out. And they have an FA Cup third-round replay date with Everton on Wednesday, while Arsenal continue their work on the training ground.

The longer preparation time should help the Gunners and they are at SBOTOP odds of 1.29 to win in the Saturday lunchtime game. Arteta will see this as a must-win game, with Manchester City beginning to click through the gears another unexpected loss could see Arsenal slip out of the title race.   

Talking Points

Full-back dilemma for Arsenal

The latest Premier League 2024 betting odds have knocked the Gunners out to 8.50 to win the league and Arteta will do all he can to minimise the risk of things getting worse.

Without Mohammed Elneny and Takehiro Tomiyasu, who are at AFCON and the Asian Cup, his squad is depleted and it is Japan star Tomiyasu who, the Arsenal boss, would like to see on the training ground right now. He’s a utility player who can operate across the back four and would certainly be in Arteta’s squad for this clash, and most likely in the starting 11.

The news that Oleksandr Zinchenko is doubtful for this weekend, having missed the last two games with a calf strain leaves Arteta a little short and he may have to move Jakub Kiwor into the left-back position, though the Pole has been playing more centrally in recent games.

This is a position Arsenal need to get right because the Eagles have some tricky wide players who can exploit any weakness. Zinchenko has been working on an individual rehab programme and Arteta might make a late decision on this one. 

The Arsenal boss has less to worry about further up the field where Saka, Gabriel Martinelli and Gabriel Jesus are all having good seasons and the link play of Declan Rice has made the Gunners a more coherent group, but Arteta is still looking for a goal scorer to re-ignite his campaign.       

Olise is a big miss for Palace

The departure of Wilfried Zaha has left a big hole in Crystal Palace’s front line but 22-year-old flying winger Michael Olise has certainly made an impact, scoring five goals this season, despite sitting out the early matches with an injury; and he is sidelined again with a hamstring problem as the Eagles try to steer clear of trouble in the second half of the campaign.

His exploits have attracted the attention of Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag, who is looking for a spark to bring his team’s campaign to life and the latest Premier League 2024 news have suggested he may even be prepared to offer wingback Aaron Wan Bissaka as a sweetener. He moved from Palace to Manchester United back in 2019 and Wan Bissaka may be interested in a return.

Olise has been unlucky with injuries and Hodgson wants him back as soon as possible but he still has a strong hand of creative players to call on, including top scorer Odsonne Edouard, who has six goals, and the tricky Eberechi Eze who, at 25 years of age, is coming into his prime.   

History

With 15 wins to four, the Gunners have had the better of the head-to-heads with Palace and have won the last three meetings, including a 1-0 victory at Selhurst Park at the beginning of this season thanks to a Martin Odegaard penalty.

There isn’t a lot to choose between the two teams in terms of recent form, both winning just one of the last six games; the Eagles have the edge with three draws and two defeats compared to Arsenal’s three defeats and two draws.      

Betting Tip

The draw is priced at 4.66 and a Palace win is at 7.52 and, much as Hodgson is a wily operator with some talented players in his team, Arsenal are on a different level and I suspect they will be at their ruthless best on Saturday.

 

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