Declan Rice has apparently recovered fully from the unspecified, undisclosed injury issue that popped up this past week. “He’s fine, we’ll make the decision now whether he’s available or not,” Gunners boss Mikel Arteta said, just ahead of his side’s 3-2 win over Crystal Palace in the EFL Cup last night.
Now comes the second leg of the London derby double header between these two sides, and this time, Declan Rice will play.
Arsenal at Crystal Palace FYIs
Kickoff: Sat. Dec. 21, 5:30pm, Selhurst Park, London, UK
Preview Content for Both Sides: Team News Starting XI Predictions
Google Result Probability: Arsenal 60% Crystal Palace 17% Draw 23%
PL Form, Position: Crystal Palace DDWDW, 21 pts, 15th Arsenal WWWDD, 30 pts, 3rd
Team News
It’s possible that defenders Riccardo Calafiori (knee) and Oleksandr Zinchenko (unspecified muscular issue) could be back for this match as well. Otherwise nothing else has changed.
Shifting gears to Palace, Daniel Munoz Mejia is suspended here while Matheus Franca de Oliveira and Adam Wharton (both of which are dealing with injuries to the groin/hip/pelvis area) are moving closer towards a return, but this match will be far too soon.
Elsewhere Rob Holding and Chadi Riad Dnanou remain out as long term injury absentees
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network, the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America and RG. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, the Washington Post and ESPN. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter.
