Key events
16 min: Gabriel does his job at the other end of the pitch, heading clear another floated Eze free kick.
14 min: Another Arsenal corner, this time from the right, and it’s nearly another goal. Saka hoicks it into the mixer. Lerma gets himself into a flap, and heads back towards his own goal, the ball pinging off the top-left junction of post and bar. Palace all over the shop here.
13 min: That’ll come as a huge relief for Arsenal, who could have got nervous if they made a slow start. On the touchline, Mikel Arteta wears the delighted expression of a man offered a juicy forkful of well-seasoned cow.
GOAL! Arsenal 1-0 Crystal Palace (Gabriel 11)
Rice swings the corner in long. Gabriel rises at the far stick, high above Richards, and plants a downwards header into the net. Simple as that!
10 min: Some space for Trossard down the left. He wins a corner off Clyne, and …
9 min: It’s all Arsenal. Smooth passing up until the final third, at which point things break down. Shades of the FA Cup defeat to Liverpool. Arsenal will hope the same pattern isn’t developing.
7 min: Arsenal are on top. Havertz cushions a header down for Jesus, who leans back and slices a wild effort over the bar.
5 min: Zinchenko crosses from the left. Richards doesn’t get any purchase on his clearing header and the ball drops to Odegaard on the penalty spot. A good chance, but the Arsenal captain dig the ball out from under his feet and Palace eventually clear their lines.
3 min: Eze launches a long free kick into the Arsenal box. Andersen wins a header but can only send the ball floating harmlessly wide right and out for a goal kick.
2 min: White, quarterbacking from deep, attempts to find Saka with a sliderule pass down the inside-right channel. Too strong. Henderson gathers.
Palace get the ball rolling. “If dear old Roy did actually compare his team to a self-playing piano (and would the MBM ever lie, fantasise or spin from whole cloth?) then he goes up another notch in the national treasure stakes,” begins Charles Antaki. “Mikel Arteta is always going to be hampered in that contest, but his recent unmentionable, let’s-pretend-it-never-happened culinary embarrassment adds a further drag on his prospects. But redemption beckons, Mikel! A five-nil win, playing the sparkly football, please, and S*** B** will be forgotten (if not actually forgiven).”
The teams are out! Arsenal are in their famous red shirts with white sleeves; Palace sport their third-choice black kit. Both teams are playing their first Premier League match of 2024, three weeks into the new year, and their long wait is nearly over.
Mikel Arteta, in a very smiley mood this afternoon, speaks to TNT. “We recharged and re-energised and have been very clear with each other about what to expect … to attack the second half of the season with energy and enthusiasm because it’s a beautiful part of the season … we have to earn the right to win and perform … we are really excited to get back playing … [scoring goals] is the hardest thing in football but I believe a lot in my players … I am a very positive person … we have to enjoy what we do … we have been doing so well and we have to continue to believe.”
Roy ‘Jelly Roll’ Hodgson talks to TNT Sports. “[The FA Cup replay at Everton] was a little bit of a dress rehearsal to some extent for this game … no team suits you in this fixture because they’re better than most teams they play against and we’re no exception to that rule … defensively we’re going to have to be very good to keep them at bay … on Wednesday night we played Eze for 60 minutes and that wen’t quite well … now it’s important to get Michael Olise back … coming back last year for those ten games, I loved that, it was the self-playing piano … but now the self-playing piano has cracked up and we’ve had to work hard to get any tune out of it … I’m still looking forward to the last part of the season when I think we’ll be a stronger team.”
Arsenal make four changes to the starting XI named for the 2-0 FA Cup loss to Liverpool. David Raya, Oleksandr Zinchenko, Gabriel Jesus and Leandro Trossard come in for Aaron Ramsdale, Jakub Kiwior, Jorginho and Reiss Nelson, all of whom drop to the bench.
Palace make two changes to the team that started the 1-0 FA Cup defeat at Everton. Dean Henderson and Jean-Philippe Mateta return, with Sam Johnstone and Odsonne Édouard dropping to the bench.
The teams
Arsenal: Raya, White, Saliba, Gabriel, Zinchenko, Odegaard, Rice, Havertz, Saka, Gabriel Jesus, Trossard.
Subs: Ramsdale, Smith Rowe, Martinelli, Nketiah, Kiwior, Cedric, Jorginho, Nelson, Walters.
Crystal Palace: Henderson, Clyne, Andersen, Guehi, Mitchell, Lerma, Richards, Eze, Hughes, Mateta, Schlupp.
Subs: Johnstone, Tomkins, Matheus Franca, Edouard, Ebiowei, Ahamada, Riedewald, Adaramola, Ozoh.
Referee: Paul Tierney (Lancashire).
Preamble
Arsenal. Yes!
Crystal Palace. Check!
Kick-off at 12.30pm GMT. It’s on!
