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Arsenal vs Crystal Palace: 5 key players in comfy home fixture
By Josh Sippie
Arsenal’s away woes are as well told as there home invincibility, so here are five guys needed to get the job done against Crystal Palace.
The fixture list is starting to pile up, and Arsenal are, unfortunately, looking at a good deal of gritty away matches to close out the season in a Champions League place. They already took care of business against Watford, but with Wolverhampton hanging out midweek, it’s looking like Crystal Palace is the “let off” between crucial away fixtures.
We’ve gone from Watford, to Napoli, later to Wolverhampton, so while there are no “easy” matches in the Premier League, this home match against Crystal Palace should ideally be the closest thing.
Palace aren’t really in danger of being relegated anymore, so they fall in that happy mid-table zone where (again, speaking ideally) we might have an easier go of it than if they were relegation contenders.
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Still, that doesn’t mean we can let the foot off the gas. Especially as far as momentum is concerned. Also, just as important, with so many huge fixtures rotating around this one home match, it’s possible that Unai Emery opts for a little squad rotation and, that being the case, the list of crucial players alters a bit, to accommodate what might be a rotated club that still has to get the job done.
For the formation, since it’s a home match, I don’t see why it would be anything but a 3-5-2, since it has worked so well against inferior opposition from the friendly confines of the Emirates, so let’s assume that’s going to be the case.
And, with that, let’s jump into the key players, starting with No. 5.
5. Granit Xhaka
Ever since returning, Granit Xhaka has been consistently popping up on the key players list, and for just cause. He is a difference maker, both in his style of player as an individual and what he brings to the team.
He isn’t going to be as heavily leaned upon as he has been in recent away matches, but that doesn’t mean that he won’t be just as necessary. Set the tempo, control the game, and let’s not sweat too badly in this one.
On to No. 4.