Arsenal will look to bounce back from their mid-week loss to Borussia Dortmund with a strong performance and 3 points against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park this Saturday.
Arsenal and Crystal Palace have had polar opposite starts to the season, with Arsenal currently topping the Premier League, and Crystal Palace currently second from bottom with only a solitary win to their name thus far. To add to their problems, Crystal Palace recently terminated the contract of Ian Holloway leaving them manager-less for this upcoming fixture.
Things are looking very positive for Arsenal this week, as they have been unbeaten in their last 7 Premier League matches, and now have the return of a seemingly fully fit Santi Cazorla to look forward to – a player that Crystal Palace will be very weary of. Arsenal fans are also likely to see the return of midfield bruiser Mathieu Flamini, after he missed the Dortmund game due to concussion.
This game was penciled in as a definite win by the majority of Arsenal fans even before the sacking of Ian Holloway, so I imagine Arsenal fans are feeling even more confident now, and although I feel confident that Arsenal will come through and win this game, I feel it’s important to not write Crystal Palace off so early – they won’t go down without a fight. Players like Jason Puncheon and Yannick Bolasie are likely to cause Arsenal problems, and of course ex-Arsenal striker Marouane Chamakh will be looking to prove a point against his old side.
I feel that Arsene Wenger may use this game as an opportunity to rotate the squad a little, and hopefully rest Aaron Ramsey, after his more-than-impressive start to the season, and Olivier Giroud, who has also had a mighty impressive start to this campaign with 6 goals in 9 (all competitions). Mesut Özil had complaints of “feeling sick” during and after the Dortmund game, and whilst Wenger has given Özil the all clear to play, I feel that we might see him appear as a substitute in this game.
Personally, I feel that this game will be a 4-1 win for the Arsenal, a routine victory and one that although won’t be easy from the start, will progressively get easier as Crystal Palace see less and less of the ball. If Arsenal replicate some of the football they played against Norwich, Crystal Palace stand no chance, and this could result in a big victory for the gunners, but it will be interesting to see how Arsenal bounce back from their first defeat in a while, as this current Arsenal side isn’t used to defeats this campaign.
Fancy a bet on this game? If so, here’s our top five tips:
Arsenal to win 4-1 (20/1): The Arsenal have been scoring for fun recently, and this is expected to continue against the Eagles. BET ON THIS MARKET
Arsenal -2 handicap (27/10): Don’t like betting on specific scores? Why not just back Arsenal to win by more than two goals with the handicap bet? The Gunners have superior amounts of quality in the team and if they all click, the game won’t be close. BET ON THIS MARKET
Olivier Giroud to score first (19/5): The big french striker was impressive against Dortmund, and will be looking to dominate another set of centre-halves when he comes up against Crystal Palace. Back him to open the scoring. BET ON THIS MARKET
Arsenal to win and both teams to score (19/10): Fancy Palace to nick a goal but Arsenal to prevail? Then this is the bet for you. BET ON THIS MARKET
Arsenal to win both halves (7/4): If you are expecting Arsenal to have too much for the Eagles in both halves of football, then this could be the way to go. BET ON THIS MARKET
