Arsenal v Crystal Palace Preview

Arsenal v Crystal Palace Preview

Arsenal return from the international break on Monday night, taking on Crystal Palace at the Emirates for what is sure to be a fascinating contest.
Gunners icon Patrick Vieira has made an outstanding start to life as Palace manager, and he'll be welcomed back to North London with open arms by the Arsenal faithful.
However, it's a crucial game for boss Mikel Arteta, who has recovered well from a poor start to the season with three consecutive wins followed by a 0-0 draw against Brighton in our last outing.
There is still work to be done at The Emirates, but a win against Palace on Monday could be a massive statement for Arteta, with Vieira already being tipped as a possible long-term replacement for the Spaniard.

What can we expect from Palace?

The Eagles are a completely different side to the one Arsenal faced in May of this year.

Roy Hodgson is gone, most of their ageing squad is gone, and Palace have recruited an exciting, young squad in their place.
That's not the only thing that has changed.
The playing style and formation between this season and last is night and day, with Vieira opting for an aggressive press out of possession and intelligent, dynamic build-up play in possession.
Vieira's side recovered from a disappointing 3-0 defeat at Anfield with an incredible performance against old rivals Brighton before showing heart to rescue a point from 2-0 down against Leicester City.
In Conor Gallagher, Palace have one of the outstanding young players in the league this year, while their inexperienced centre-back partnership of Marc Guéhi and Joachim Andersen have improved with every game.
Of course, there's Wilfried Zaha, but Michael Olise has just come into this Palace side and looked a threat against Leicester City last week.
He scored seven goals and created 12 in the Championship last season and looks likely to come into the starting 11 for Jordan Ayew.
All of Vieira's players have returned from international duty "fit and ready to go," meaning they are only without longstanding absentees Eberechi Eze and Nathan Ferguson.
They could pose a real threat on Monday.

What can we expect from Arsenal?

Arsenal are improving.

We are far from perfect, and the disappointing performance against Brighton last time out is a testament to that.
But there is no denying that ten points from a possible 12 is an impressive return for Mikel Arteta, especially considering how bad things looked after the 5-0 loss against City.
The defence is the best it's looked in many years and, like Palace, we are starting to see the development of an exciting, youthful spine to this side.
There are no new injury concerns for the Gunners, but players are still returning from international duty.
Granit Xhaka won't feature and is expected to be out for three months with a knee injury.
Arsenal will need to be defensively sound in transition if they're going to win this game. We cannot allow Palace to break quickly.
Arteta will also have to ensure that his side is more creative against the Eagles than they were against the Seagulls.
The forward line will also need to pressure Guéhi and Anderson to ensure that they cannot form a steady base for Palace to launch their attacks.
Palace have a weak spot with Joel Ward at right-back, and Arsenal will need to exploit it.
Vicente Guaita may be an excellent keeper, but he is also in poor form, and Arsenal should be pressuring him with dangerous crosses from the word go on Monday.
It is sure to be an exciting game, and if the Gunners win, it'll be the biggest sign so far that Arsenal's season is back on track.

Photo Credit: Getty Images 

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