⚽ The "There is a game today, right?" thread: Arsenal v Crystal Palace 14:00

RocktheCasbah

I'm getting ready to go to the Emirates (thank you @James) so this is a very quick starter for ten. Justice for Patrick Vieira must be meted out by us, and then we could be 8 points clear - imagine that...

Win today and we match our points total from last season, a colossal effort from Mikel and the boys.

Come on you Gunners!

Burnwinter

Massive match today.

Need a response after Sporting, need a response from the whole team to being injury hit, and it's also—despite the fact Liverpool's chances against City can't be that amazing—one of our best chances to extend our lead further.

But whatever City, do, we win this and we're at least 5 clear with only 10 to go. So we'd better be going after it.

goon

Burnwinter But whatever City, do, we win this and we're at least 5 clear with only 10 to go. So we'd better be going after it.

We just need to keep winning to demoralise them, and winning 6 on the trot will definitely dishearten them. Genuinely wouldn't surprise me if a lot of those guys, who have already won the league several times, end up shifting focus to those Bayern games when if we can maintain and build on that gap.

Burnwinter

I agree. The two competitions and City's history in the league and in Europe should eventually take a toll of some kind on them if we keep winning.

At this stage, any more points they drop in relative terms will discourage their interest in the pursuit.

Gotta win this though for the opposite reasons.

goon

I think more important than the win though is Vieira scoring to get justice for Vieira, that's all I ask.

Qwiss

No Saliba is a disappointment but you'd expect them to be professional enough to get the job done regardless.

Pepe LeFrits

Don Pacifico

Best team I think we could have started with.

Walters in the bench needs minutes in this game if we can as can't see a situation where we're not going to need to rest White before the end of the season.

Qwiss

Don Pacifico Walters in the bench needs minutes in this game

I would be shocked if that happens. Maybe if we are up by 3 or 4 with 20 minutes left but even then it'd surprise me.

Qwiss

Good XI. Time for Holdinho to show his worth. I'd imagine we'll get a half hour of Jesus too.

KingslandBarge

I would have considered taking Zinchenko out but no complaints really. Couple players in there that could be leggy. They just really need a big dose of love and support from RtC, and to start the first 20 in the way that has granted them so much success.

Burnwinter

Quite certain they'll be focused on exploiting our makeshift defence so it'd be a bad idea to encourage it further.

I'm pretty worried about that right side, I suspect it'll be a vulnerable mess and I hope we have a few tweaks in mind to give Holding and White extra protection.

Clrnc

Zaha + Schlupp + Mitchell vs White and Holding scares me.

But they have a 19 year old keeper making his league debut, just shoot from everywhere and we should win comfortably

Don Pacifico

Just realised this isn't televised in the UK...again.

Ffs...

goon

Don Pacifico apparently it's because they can show a maximum of 29 games per team so want to save all the televised games for the run in. It is a ludicrous set of circumstances. And they wonder why people are opting to get firesticks and IPTV for all the games for a months worth of Sky/BT/Amazon where you only get a handful.

Don Pacifico

Lolz, didn't realise there was 'logic' behind the decision.

Absolute nonsense but there we go...

Coombs

Them losing Andersen and having to play Tomkins is the mirror image of Holding for Saliba.

Clrnc

Coombs yep fair now. Andersen had been huge for them

USArsenal

Ohh Martinelli almost. Just taken off him at the last second.