It’s a Monday Night Football, London derby, to complete this next round of Premier League action when Arsenal host Crystal Palace. The final fixture of the weekend sees a club legend, Patrick Vieira, lead his Eagles into the house where he first made a name for himself.
After a very rough start to the season, Arsenal are now squarely mid-table. Palace were expected to be relegation fodder, but so far their results have been surprisingly decent. This should be a tightly contested affair.
Arsenal vs Crystal Palace FYIs
Kick: Mon Oct 18, 8pm, Emirates Stadium, London
Team news for both sides: go here
Premier League Preview Podcast: go here
PL Form Guide Arsenal DWWWL Crystal Palace DDLWD
PL Position Arsenal 11th, 10 points Crystal Palace 14th, 7points
It’s a pretty straight forward selection here for Mikel Arteta, who seems to be figuring some things out now. He better- as he might not keep his job beyond this season if the Gunners don’t start getting better results.
Being out of Europe altogether is not acceptable in North London.
Predicted Arsenal Starting XI vs Brighton & Hove Albion (4-2-3-1):
Aaron Ramsdale; Takehiro Tomiyasu, Ben White, Gabriel, Kieran Tierney; Thomas Partey, Albert Sambi Lokonga; Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard, Emile Smith Rowe; Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
Arsenal 3, Crystal Palace 2
Great attacking or bad defending? Or a little of both? Crystal Palace have been better than expected, but Mikel Arteta seems to be figuring some things out right now.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank, partnered with News Now. Banks, 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,” has regularly appeared in WGN, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune.
He co-hosts the After Extra Time podcast. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram.