ARSENAL will be hoping to make it two wins from two as they travel to Crystal Palace for a fiery London derby TONIGHT.
It is North vs South on Monday evening, with both teams starting their Premier League campaigns with victories.
Last season’s title challengers looked in good form in the first half of their 2-1 win over Nottingham Forest as Eddie Nketiah and Bukayo Saka both fired past former team-mate Matt Turner.
However, the game was not plain sailing for boss Mikel Arteta as Jurrien Timber suffered an ACL injury and Taiwo Awoniyi late goal gave them some unnecessary pressure at the end of the game.
Palace however started their season with a solid 1-0 win over newly promoted outfit Sheffield United.
Odsonne Edouard netted the decisive goal with a clinical finish.
It has been a good week for the South Londoners following the win as star player Michael Olise committed his future to the club by signings a four-year deal amid interest from Chelsea.
The winger had been expected to be on his way out of the Eagles after the Blues activated his £35million release clause, but he opted against the move.
Manager Roy Hodgson will be hoping his team can cause an early upset and will expect the crowd at Selhurst Park to be fully behind the team
The two clubs faced off at the start of last season, but Arsenal came out on two thanks to a goal from Gabriel Martinelli and Marc Guehi putting through his own net.
Both sides come into the game off the back of opening-day wins.
Arsenal looked good for much of their clash against Forest, but it was clear to see that players were still adapting to new tactics and team-mates.
Arteta gave Kai Havertz, Declan Rice and Timber their first Premier League starts for the Gunners, although it brought a mixed bag of results.
Timber’s injury cut his game short, while Havertz failed to put his influence on the game.
Rice however put in a solid shift and helped control the midfield and even went close to scoring on a few occasions.
Palace on the other hand were the dominant side in their opening win against the Blades.
Hodgson’s men controlled the game and could have had more than one goal if they had been a bit more clinical.
Timber is Arsenal’s big injury problem with the Dutchman now expected to miss much of the season after damaging his ACL.
Gabriel Jesus also remains out of action and Eddie Nketiah is expected to continue up top.
Leandro Trossard may find himself with a spot in the XI but Gabriel Martinelli will more likely start from the off.
While Arteta has confirmed that he is hoping to have Oleksandr Zinchenko back in contention soon.
Olise, despite having signed a new contract, is still injured and won’t feature for Palace until September at the earliest.
Who will be the star men?
Arsenal’s key man against Palace will likely be Saka once again. The winger opened his account for the season in sensational fashion against Forest.
The England international cut in from the wing and fired in a brilliant curling effort to double his side’s lead.
Saka finished last season with 14 goals and 11 assists and he will be hoping to better that record this time around.
For Palace, Eberechi Eze has been responsible for leading the team’s attacking play following Wilfried Zaha’s exit and Olise’s injury.
Eze was unlucky not to score against Sheffield United last time out and will be hoping to grab his first of the season against the Gunners.
Last season the attacking midfielder was in fine form for the Eagles as he netted ten goals and picked up four assists.
