How Arsenal should lineup against Crystal Palace tonight

Arsenal players celebrating a goal

Arsenal stumbled off the top of the Premier League in the week as Manchester City powered past them with a 5-1 win away at Tottenham Hotspur.

The Gunners will be desperate to go back on top of the pile with City playing Chelsea next. Chelsea also had a hiccup in the week as they failed to break down West Ham at Stamford Bridge. Arsene Wenger will know the importance of being at the top of the league before negotiating a difficult set of fixtures in February and March.

Mikel Arteta is back, but Flamini is suspended and Wilshere and Ramsey are injured. The centre of midfield suddenly looks paper thin, and this was evident in the Gunners’ draw against Southampton in the week, where, especially in the first half, they were outplayed.

Lukas Podolski is constantly watching from the bench despite proving his ability, and Santi Cazorla has found goal scoring form at the right time. Tomas Rosicky will return to the squad after suffering from a broken nose. After a shaky performance on Tuesday night, Monreal could make way for the fit again Keiran Gibbs at left-back.

Goalkeeper: Woijech Szczesny

Szczesny didn’t cover himself in glory against Southampton for the first goal, but the Pole has arguably been the best goalkeeper in the division this season. For someone so young, it is extremely impressive.

At just 23, Szczesny recently played his 100thgame for Arsenal. Szczesny averages over two saves a game and keeps goal for an Arsenal side which has one of the best defences in the league. Szczesny has got to start between the sticks for Sunday’s game.

Right-Back: Bacary Sagna

Sagna has been brilliant for Arsenal this season, and his form leaves question marks over why he is yet to sign a new contract. Surely Arsenal are willing to offer him more than a one-year extension, he has been a great servant to the club and deserves, within reason, what he wants.

If Sagna is stalling, then it is more understandable, even though Arsenal are battling for the title, Bacary will be desperate to secure some silverware before his career ends, and with PSG heavily linked, this would be a decent opportunity for the Frenchman.

Centre-Back: Per Mertesacker

Arsenal’s best performer this season, Mertesacker has a Squawka Performance Score of 737. The experienced German has become an indispensable member of the squad and his exclusion from the starting eleven, when fit, has become incomprehensible. If Vermaelen decides to move on in the summer in search of more regular game time, Per would surely be the most likely to take the captaincy.

Centre-Back: Laurent Koscielny

Koscielny has been in very good form of late and is rightfully getting mentioned amongst the best defenders in the division. He is keeping Vermaelen watching from the sidelines and giving Arsene Wenger no reason to drop him.

Despite conceding twice in the week against Southampton, Arsenal have often looked impenetrable at the back when Mertesacker and Koscielny play together. He wins a massive 63% of his tackles and is an essential part of this title challenging Arsenal team.

Laurent Koscielny stats

Left-Back: Keiran Gibbs

Nacho Monreal has been given an extended run in the team following Gibbs’ absence. Until Tuesday, Monreal had looked comfortable and professional in the role, but against Southampton he looked nervous and erratic, making several mistakes.

There is a feeling that Monreal is stronger defensively, but Gibbs has improved in this area massively, and even wins 52% of his aerial duels in comparison to Monreal who wins just 40%. It looks time to freshen the Arsenal XI up a bit, and Gibbs coming back in against Crystal Palace looks to be a wise switch.