da wazamba： Arsenal will look to pick up their fourth successive Premier League win at the Emirates Stadium when they host Sam Allardyce’s Crystal Palace this New Year’s Day.
da brdice： The Gunners bounced back from consecutive 2-1 defeats on the road at Everton and Manchester City by beating West Bromwich Albion in north London on Boxing Day thanks to Olivier Giroud’s late winning goal, meaning Arsene Wenger’s side are fourth in the Premier League, nine points behind the leaders Chelsea.
If the club are to challenge for the title this term, they must continue to take maximum points at home against sides like the Eagles, especially if they do pick up disappointing results on the road.
They will come up against a Palace team that has been boosted by the arrival of Allardyce as their new boss, and they were unfortunate to only get a 1-1 draw with Watford on Boxing Day.
Here is FootballFanCast’s Arsenal XI that will take all three points against Crystal Palace…
GK: Petr Cech
While some of Arsenal’s fans may have been disappointed with some of their stopper’s performances this season, there is no question that he is still up there as one of the best in the Premier League.
After conceding four goals in two matches in the defeats to Manchester City and Everton, Cech would have been pleased to bounce back with a clean sheet against West Brom, and he will be keen to get another shut-out against Palace to start the New Year with a bang.
RB: Hector Bellerin
There is no doubt that the Spanish defender has established himself as one of the club’s key players now, and if Crystal Palace do sit back and try to frustrate Arsenal this New Year’s Day, they will need their speedy full-back to provide an extra attacking threat on the right.
Bellerin signed a new long-term deal with the Gunners last month and that will have certainly been a big relief for the supporters, as he has consistently proven that he is one of the best right-backs in the Premier League.
CB: Laurent Koscielny
Undoubtedly one of the best centre-backs in the Premier League, the Frenchman could be in for a tough physical battle at the Emirates Stadium today.
Under Sam Allardyce and with the likes of Wilfried Zaha and Andros Townsend on the wings, Palace could look to use the threat that striker Christian Benteke brings in the air, and Koscielny will need to keep a close eye on the Belgian to boost his side’s chance of keeping a clean sheet.
CB: Gabriel Paulista
With the likes of Per Mertesacker and Shkodran Mustafi out injured, it has been Gabriel that has filled in alongside Laurent Koscielny at the heart of the Arsenal defence.
However, questionable performances in the defeats to Everton and Manchester City would have raised a few eyebrows, and the Brazilian will have been delighted to put in a solid performance and gain a clean sheet in the 1-0 success against West Brom on Boxing Day.
LB: Nacho Monreal
The left-back has proven that he is one of Arsenal’s most consistent players over the course of the last few seasons and despite not putting in his best performance against Man City – which saw him dropped for the visit of West Brom on Monday – the Spaniard should return to the starting XI in place of Kieran Gibbs against Palace.
With tricky wingers such as Andros Townsend and Wilfried Zaha to defend against, Monreal will need to put in a good defensive performance as well as providing his usual threat going forward.
CM: Granit Xhaka
The summer signing has found first-team football hard to come by this season, which has been something of a mystery to some Arsenal supporters because when he has been on the pitch, he has usually impressed.
The Switzerland international did start against West Brom and after helping the side keep a clean sheet and providing a base for the attacking players in front of him to make an impact at the top end of the field, the tenacious midfielder should be named in the team against Palace too.
CM: Aaron Ramsey
Arsene Wenger opted to go with a central midfield duo of Granit Xhaka and Francis Coquelin against West Brom, but with his side failing to fire in attack, the Frenchman brought Ramsey on for the latter to try and change the game.
With Crystal Palace likely to have a similar plan to the one the Baggies had on Monday, Wenger may look to go for a more attacking influence in the middle of the park alongside a defensive midfielder.
RAM: Alex Iwobi
The young Nigerian winger has found himself on the substitutes’ bench in recent weeks with Theo Walcott showing some impressive form – including his fine goal in the defeat to Manchester City – but with the England international missing with a calf injury until the New Year, Iwobi filled in against West Brom and he will do the same when Crystal Palace come to the Emirates.
The forward is likely to come up against the Eagles’ Joel Ward, and he will look to cause the full-back problems with his direct running and pace.
CAM: Mesut Ozil
While he was widely criticised for a perceived lack of effort in the defeat to Manchester City, Ozil is still one of Arsenal’s key men in an attacking sense.
He has that unpredictability that can be key when a side comes to the Emirates and puts men behind the ball – something that Crystal Palace are likely to do on New Year’s Eve – and he came up with the all-important assist for Olivier Giroud as the Gunners finally found a breakthrough against West Brom on Monday.
LAM: Alexis Sanchez
The Chile forward put in a number of fantastic performances in the striker’s position earlier in the season, including a hat-trick in the 5-1 thrashing of West Ham.
However, Olivier Giroud has been pushing for a start up top in recent weeks and he finally got it against West Brom, meaning Sanchez reverted back to the attacking midfield position that he has often occupied since he made the move to the Emirates.
He has the quality and finishing ability to make the difference against Palace, and he will want to make a positive impact to get Arsenal’s year off to the perfect start.
ST: Olivier Giroud
Even though he has found places in the starting XI hard to come by in the Premier League this season, the striker has been in decent goalscoring form considering his lack of game time – he has four top-flight goals.
After being given a place in the team and scoring the winner against West Brom on Monday with a bullet header, the Frenchman must be given another start against Crystal Palace in what could be a physical battle against the Eagles’ defenders.