Preview: Arsenal v Crystal Palace | Pre-Match Report | News

We look to keep the feel-good factor generated from Tuesday’s incredible win over Atletico Madrid going to record a seventh successive win when Crystal Palace cross the river on Sunday (2pm UK) for Premier League action.

The Eagles have won just one of their last 14 away league games against us, but while their impressive 19-game unbeaten run ended last time on the road at Everton, Oliver Glasner’s well-drilled side have been beaten just three times in their last 19 league road fixtures, but did fall to a surprise loss on Thursday in the UEFA Conference League.

Ebere Eze could come up against the club for whom he clinched the FA Cup in May when his goal beat Manchester City, but now in red and white, he’ll be looking to keep our own lengthy undefeated streak intact as we aim to once again finish the weekend on top of the table.

Eagles get wings clipped

Palace bounced into this season off the back of one of their greatest-ever campaigns, which saw them finish unbeaten in eight and culminate in winning major silverware for the first time. As 2025/26 rolled in, they began by returning to Wembley to add the Community Shield to their previously bare trophy cabinet.

An encouraging three wins and three draws were recorded in their first six Premier League fixtures, including a last-minute win over Liverpool in SE25. Amongst that run, they edged past Danish side Fredrikstad 1-0 on aggregate to book their spot in the UEFA Conference League, beat Dynamo Kyiv in their first-ever major European game, and knocked neighbours Millwall out of the Carabao Cup to string together a club-record 19-match unbeaten run.

However a last-gasp Jack Grealish goal saw Everton become the first team to beat the Eagles since April, and after twice fighting back to earn a 3-3 draw against Bournemouth last weekend, Palace slumped to a 1-0 home defeat to AEK Larnaca to leave them winless in their last three before heading to north London.

What the managers say

Arteta: “It’s a big game for us, because last season we dropped some points and it’s the fourth game in a row that we’re going to play against opponents that we drop points against, and this season we’ve been able to beat them, so our focus is on that.

“If we want a very different outcome, we’d better do very different things than we did last year, especially in these fixtures. So we know what Palace are doing, what Oliver [Glasner] is doing for the football club, and the way they are getting results. So it’s going to be a really tough match, but we’re going to play again in front of our crowd, and we are confident that if we hit our level, we have a big chance to win it.” – every word from Mikel’s pre-match press conference

Glasner: “Sometimes, especially after such an emotional game or such a disappointing defeat, it’s good to look at the facts. Crystal Palace, after selling Michael Olise and Eberechi Eze and bringing in Yeremy Pino and Ismaila Sarr, have the highest xG in the whole Premier League in front of City, Arsenal, Liverpool and all these teams.

“This is a credit to the team, not to the individuals. The whole team. It just shows how much effort the team put in every single game. Of course, everybody who likes Crystal Palace would like to have Michael and Ebs still in the squad but on the other side, it shows that we can also create enough chances to score goals.”

Team news

Mikel admitted that Gabriel missed training in the build-up to this game after picking up an issue against Atletico in midweek and will continue to be assessed.

Martin Odegaard, Noni Madueke, Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus, who netted five times against Palace back in December, remain out with their knee injuries.

Glasner has virtually all his key players available, albeit Cheick Doucoure has been out all season with a knee injury, while backup defenders Chadi Riad (knee) and Caleb Kporha (back) are also missing.

Chris Richards, Daichi Kamada and Adam Wharton were rested for Thursday’s Conference League loss and should come back into the starting line-up.

Talking tactics

Adrian Clarke, writing in the official matchday programme: Glasner is wedded to a 3-4-2-1 formation. They are a relatively low-possession outfit, averaging the third-lowest share of the ball (41%) in the division, but once the Eagles win it back, they come alive in a flash to hurt opponents on transitions.

They do not press high, but in the middle third and wide areas they are superb at applying pressure. Glasner’s men currently rank second for the most tackles, third for high-intensity pressures, and third for interceptions. No Premier League side can match the direct speed of their attacks, at 2.13 metres/sec.

Glasner deploys his wing-backs high and wide to supply width, but also to stretch play in a bid to create room on the inside for his twin No. 10s. Those two players often lure centre-backs into midfield, with the aim of isolating powerful striker Jean-Philippe Mateta in a one v one. He and Ismaila Sarr are both in outstanding form, and have pace to burn.

But while Palace lead the league for shots on target (43), xG (17.4) and big chances (33) this season, they are underperforming their xG by the biggest margin (-5.4) and have missed the most big chances (22). Glasner’s men have also conceded the most high turnovers, so closing down with aggression may be part of Mikel Arteta’s gameplan.

Facts and stats

We have won five of our last six Premier League meetings with Crystal Palace, though the exception was a 2-2 draw in this exact fixture last season.

Palace have conceded 19 goals across their last six Premier League games against us, an average of 3.2 per game.

We have only lost two of our 70 home Premier League matches when we’ve started the day top of the table (W52 D16), losing to Hull City in September 2008 and Manchester City in February 2023.

Since the start of April, the Eagles have drawn nine Premier League matches – three more than anyone else.

We have not faced a single shot on target in either of our last two Premier League matches. On record since 2003/04, the only side to go three games in a row without facing a shot on target are Manchester City between May and August 2014.

We lead the way for corner goals (7) and goals from set pieces (10) in the Premier League this season, finding the net with a set piece in six of our eight games. It is the earliest into a season any team has scored 10 set-piece goals in Premier League history.

Gabriel Martinelli has more league goals against Palace than against any other side (6), with five goals coming across his last six games.

Leandro Trossard has netted in each of his last two Premier League starts against the Eagles. He’s never ended on the losing side when scoring for us in the competition (21 games).

Jean-Philippe Mateta is the third Palace player to net five goals in their first eight matches of a Premier League season, along with Andrew Johnson in 2004/05 and Wilfried Zaha in 2020/21.

Match officials

A new face will referee us this weekend, as Sheffield-based official Tom Bramall has been appointed to this fixture. He has been officiating in the Premier League since the start of the 2022/23 season and has now amassed 34 games in the top-flight, including four this campaign, during which he has brandished 15 yellows and one red.

One of the matches this term was Palace’s goalless draw with Sunderland, which was the sixth time he’d refereed the Eagles, and they are yet to lose under his watch, winning three and drawing three.

Referee: Tom Bramall
Assistants: Simon Bennett, Nick Greenhalgh
Fourth official: Andy Madley
VAR: Chris Kavanagh
Assistant VAR: Craig Taylor

Previous Palace visits

We have only won two of our last seven home league games against the Eagles, giving up the lead twice in a 2-2 draw in April. Jakub Kiwior opened the scoring before Eze struck against his future employers, and while Leandro Trossard got us back in front before the break, Mateta’s clever clip into an empty net seven minutes from time all-but ended our title ambitions.

The previous December saw us run out 3-2 victors in the Carabao Cup quarter-finals with Jesus’ hat-trick sandwiched between goals for Mateta and ex-Gunner Eddie Nketiah, while the previous two were also good afternoons for us, winning by an aggregate score of 9-1.

In January 2024 we put five past the Eagles, with Gabriel’s brace putting us 2-0 up at half-time, before a goal from Trossard and a late Martinelli double put the game to bed. Another big win was recorded in March 2023 when Bukayo Saka scored twice with Martinelli and Granit Xhaka also netting in a 4-1 success, ending Palace’s four-game unbeaten run in N5.

Live coverage

Tune into our matchday show Live From N5 from an hour before kick-off, when Nicole Holliday and Jeremie Aliadiere will be joined by rock icon Jon Bon Jovi, as well as Wolf Alice bassist Theo Ellis, and WNBA Rookie of the Year Paige Bueckers.

They will chat about all-things Arsenal ahead of the game, while Frimmy and Adrian Clarke will reveal an exclusive first look at our upcoming podcast, The Dispatch.

Two audience members will go head-to-head in our Buzzer Challenge, while another Hero of the Week will be crowned before live commentary comes from Dan Roebuck and Adrian.

You can also find out which broadcasters will be showing the action live, wherever you are in the world.

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