Preview: Arsenal 2-2 Crystal Palace

Preview: Arsenal 2-2 Crystal Palace

After incredible performances in our last two midweek matches against Real Madrid over the past fortnight, we host Crystal Palace under the lights on Wednesday (8pm UK), looking to set us up nicely for our next evening guests when Paris Saint-Germain arrive in six days.

That semi-final is something all Gooners will savour, but Palace’s fans have a huge last-four clash of their own to relish with them tackling Aston Villa on Saturday at Wembley as they spy a first piece of major silverware in their history.

Neither side can afford to be distracted heading into this one though, as we have won each of our last five Premier League encounters with the side from Selhurst, and beaten the Eagles twice already this campaign. But with this being our final match before we switch gears to the Champions League, Mikel Arteta will demand full focus to keep building form and confidence as the season enters its most crucial time.

Oliver Glasner’s side cross the capital for this game sitting 12th in the table, meaning their season rests on the German’s ability to navigate a way past Villa on the weekend to set up a third-ever FA Cup final against either Manchester City or Nottingham Forest.

It’s a far cry from when the Eagles won one of their opening 13 in the Premier League, but from December onwards their form has improved remarkably. Their 5-1 loss to us in SE25 just before Christmas was their only defeat in their next nine league games, while they went a club record 10 games unbeaten on their travels heading into this month, before conceding 10 in their last two trips at Manchester City and Newcastle United.

Perhaps that shows that one eye has turned towards Wembley, as well as one win being recorded in the five matches since they beat Fulham in the quarter-final last month. Stockport County, Doncaster Rovers and Millwall were all knocked out to reach the final four for the third time in the past 10 seasons, as Glasner dreams of writing himself in club history.

Mikel Arteta’s pre-Crystal Palace press conference

Arteta: “[Glasner] has done an unbelievable job. Where he’s taken the team and the club to be in the position they are in right now, I think they fully deserve it. He’s given the team a very clear identity.

“He’s maximised the squad and the ability of that squad, and they are a really tough opponent. They are really well coached. I think he’s got a very clear mentality, how he wants to approach games, and they are very competitive to reach their position in the table and where they are in the FA Cup. Certainly, it’s not a coincidence, I think they deserve it.”

Glasner: “I expect both teams will enter the pitch to win the game. For Arsenal, because they don’t play at the weekend, I think they’ll want to stay in the rhythm. We expect they’ll play with their strongest team. They have six days’ time for the Champions League semi-final and they play at home.

“I think this is what all the fans deserve: that they see the best teams, and we will play with the best available team tomorrow as well.”

Riccardo Calafiori is closing in on a return to fitness after he suffered a knee injury on international duty last month but is not likely to play a part in this game. Bukayo Saka is set to be involved in some capacity, after recovering from a reckless tackle at Ipswich on Sunday.

Jorginho will remain unavailable after suffering a chest injury against Brentford 10 days ago, while Kai Havertz, Gabriel Jesus, Takehiro Tomiyasu and Gabriel all remain out long-term.

Chris Richards will sit this game out through suspension after picking up a red card in the goalless draw against Bournemouth on Saturday.

Long-term casualties Cheick Doucoure and Chadi Dnanou will miss the remainder of the campaign with knee injuries.

Adrian Clarke, writing in the official matchday programme: Glasner has built a very settled side, with a 3-4-2-1 formation that suits his players extremely well, which contracts into a compact 5-4-1 when they are defending inside their own half. The key men in this system are twin attacking no.10s Eberechi Eze and Ismaila Sarr – when Palace turn defence into attack, they come alive to spring dangerous counters and transitions.

Our opponents’ super strength in 2024/25 has been their high-intensity football inside the middle third. They allow teams to play out from the back until a certain point, before engaging with them physically either side of the halfway line. A lot of their ball-winning comes in the wider areas too, where the wing-backs Daniel Munoz and Tyrick Mitchell offer plenty of aggression. In attack, both have assisted several goals, with the right-sided Munoz chipping in with four on the back of some marauding runs into the final third.

That front four of Mateta, Eze and Sarr are also worthy of further mention. They have power and pace aplenty and tend to combine seamlessly with one another too. The Eze to Mateta connection has supplied six goals, the second-best combination in the Premier League.

In the air they can be a little susceptible. While they have not conceded many goals from set-pieces, the Eagles have lost more aerial duels than any other top-flight outfit. Balls sent into the danger zone could cause them issues.

Facts and stats

We have won our last five Premier League games against Crystal Palace, netting exactly five goals in both of the last two.

We have lost just one of their last 16 Premier League London derbies, with that defeat coming against West Ham in February.

Palace have won three Premier League London derbies this season, last winning more in a single top-flight campaign in 1990/91 (5). They have also won their last two away in the capital, having won just one of their previous 22. They last won three on the bounce in November 1997.

We are unbeaten in our last 42 home Premier League games when we’ve scored first (W36 D6), since losing 2-1 to Man City on New Year’s Day 2022.

Gabriel Martinelli has scored more Premier League goals against Crystal Palace (6 in 9 games) than he has against any other side. He’s looking to score in three consecutive appearances in all competitions for the first time since March 2023.

Declan Rice has had a hand in seven goals in his last eight appearances at Emirates Stadium (4 goals, 3 assists).

Jean-Philippe Mateta has been involved in five goals in his last seven Premier League London derbies (4 goals, 1 assist), scoring in three this season against Tottenham Hotspur, Chelsea and West Ham.