Two ex-Arsenal midfielders prepare to lock horns in the dugout this week, as the Gunners welcome Patrick Vieira's Crystal Palace to the Emirates in Monday's Premier League clash.
Mikel Arteta's side drew 0-0 with Brighton & Hove Albion before the international break, while the Eagles took a point of their own in a meeting with Leicester City.
Match preview
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The Arsenal from the first 45 minutes of their North London derby win over Tottenham Hotspur were nowhere to be seen on the South Coast, as Arteta's side were nullified and were arguably fortunate to come away with a point at the Amex Stadium.
The Gunners had fleeting opportunities of their own which they could not convert, but compared to the horror show of results in August, 10 points from the last 12 on offer is a marked improvement for Arteta - the September manager of the month.
Arsenal have risen to 11th in the rankings for the time being - which could certainly change over the weekend before their encounter with Palace - and while they are on an upwards trajectory, mid-table obscurity is still far from where they want to be.
Furthermore, only basement side Norwich City have scored fewer than the five goals that Arsenal have chalked up so far in the 2021-22 Premier League season - although three other teams can also boast just a quintet of strikes - but the Aaron Ramsdale-marshalled defence has conceded just once in their last 360 minutes of top-flight football.
Such new-found defensive resilience is hardly a surprise given that all of Arteta's first-choice defenders are fit and firing on all cylinders, and four of Arsenal's last five Emirates encounters in the league have ended in victory before the return of the Invincibles captain.
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Vieira left Arsenal for Juventus a year before their move to the Emirates Stadium, and while he would don the red and white for Dennis Bergkamp's testimonial in 2006, competitive fixtures at the ground have been few and far between for the 45-year-old.
The Premier League and FA Cup-winning captain can certainly expect a warm welcome from the Emirates faithful as he prepares to face his old club as a manager for the very first time, but sentimentality will go out of the window for 90 minutes as the Eagles aim to soar to another respectable result.
Just before the international break, a resilient Palace found themselves 2-0 down against Leicester City following strikes from Jamie Vardy and Kelechi Iheanacho, but substitutes Michael Olise and Jeffrey Schlupp turned the game on its head to rescue a point for the Eagles.
Four of Palace's seven league games so far this term have now ended level, but only one has ended with Vieira's side coming out on top - that memorable triumph over Tottenham Hotspur - and that string of results has left the Eagles 14th in the table at this early stage.
However, Palace have lost four of their last five away from home in the league and have conceded 13 goals in that miserable streak, but Arsenal's 3-1 win at Selhurst Park last season represents the Gunners' only win from their last six in this London derby.
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Team News
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Long-term knee victim Granit Xhaka is Arsenal's only confirmed absentee at this moment in time, while Gabriel Martinelli picked up a minor injury over the international break and will be assessed closer to the time.
The Brazilian starlet was never likely to start here, though, while Albert Sambi Lokonga and Thomas Partey should form the midfield pairing with Xhaka sidelined, unless Arteta opts to drop Martin Odegaard and Emile Smith Rowe deeper in a 4-3-3.
Such a move would allow Nicolas Pepe to come back into the side after his stellar performance at Selhurst Park last term, but Arteta ought to stick with what he knows on Monday.
Meanwhile, Palace only have long-term absentees Eberechi Eze and Nathan Ferguson to worry about, with Olise announcing himself to the Premier League in style off the bench last time out.
The 19-year-old will push Jordan Ayew all the way for a starting place but may just lose out to the more experienced forward, while it is difficult to see Schlupp forcing his way into the lineup here.
Captain Luka Milivojevic has forced his way back into the team and will aim to build on a stellar record of five goals from eight games against Arsenal, four of which have come from the penalty spot.
Arsenal possible starting lineup:
Ramsdale; Tomiyasu, White, Gabriel, Tierney; Partey, Lokonga; Saka, Odegaard, Smith Rowe; Aubameyang
Crystal Palace possible starting lineup:
Guaita; Ward, Andersen, Guehi, Mitchell; McArthur, Milivojevic, Gallagher; Ayew, Edouard, Zaha
We say: Arsenal 2-1 Crystal Palace
Arsenal have been guilty of a lack of defensive discipline against bogey team Palace in recent years, with Wilfried Zaha - always a rumoured target for the Gunners - out to wreak havoc in the penalty area yet again.
However, Arteta appears to have struck gold with this current defensive formula, and we are still backing a near-full strength Arsenal to march to all three points in front of their own fans.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Arsenal win with a probability of 57.92%. A draw had a probability of 24.1% and a win for Crystal Palace had a probability of 18%.
The most likely scoreline for an Arsenal win was 1-0 with a probability of 13.88%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (11.64%) and 2-1 (9.48%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (11.3%), while for a Crystal Palace win it was 0-1 (6.74%). The actual scoreline of 2-2 was predicted with a 3.9% likelihood.
