Pain in the Arsenal
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Arsenal Vs Crystal Palace: Predicted starting XI – Mikel Arteta’s pecking order forms

By Andrew Dowdeswell

LONDON, ENGLAND - JANUARY 06: Mikel Arteta, Manager of Arsenal reacts during the FA Cup Third Round match between Arsenal FC and Leeds United at the Emirates Stadium on January 06, 2020 in London, England. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - JANUARY 06: Mikel Arteta, Manager of Arsenal reacts during the FA Cup Third Round match between Arsenal FC and Leeds United at the Emirates Stadium on January 06, 2020 in London, England. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images) /
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LONDON, ENGLAND – JANUARY 06: Stuart Dallas of Leeds United is tackled by Sokratis Papastathopoulos of Arsenal during the FA Cup Third Round match between Arsenal FC and Leeds United at the Emirates Stadium on January 06, 2020 in London, England. (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND – JANUARY 06: Stuart Dallas of Leeds United is tackled by Sokratis Papastathopoulos of Arsenal during the FA Cup Third Round match between Arsenal FC and Leeds United at the Emirates Stadium on January 06, 2020 in London, England. (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images) /

Centre-Backs

David Luiz has been sensational since Mikel Arteta took over as the head coach. His passing range has been utilised terrifically, while his aggressive defending has been a great asset to the collective high-pressing scheme that Arteta has implement. As a result, he is now the clear number one centre-back in the squad. Luiz starts.

His partner would likely be Calum Chambers, who has many of the qualities that Arteta would seemingly like at centre-back. Chambers, sadly, tore his ACL and will miss the remainder of the season. That leaves options thin, to say the least.

Shkodran Mustafi did not cover himself in glory in Chambers’ stead against Chelsea, Rob Holding still looks short on confidence and fitness as evidenced by his performance in the FA Cup, while Sokratis started and performed well against Manchester United. Sokratis, then, gets the nod.