Arsenal will be looking to end their Premier League campaign on a high when they travel to face Crystal Palace on Sunday at 4pm.
The Gunners have already secured the Premier League title, thanks to a combination of their win over Burnley and Manchester City dropping points against Bournemouth in midweek.
Arsenal predicted lineup vs Crystal Palace
Arsenal (4-2-3-1): Raya; Mosquera, Gabriel, Hincapie, Lewis-Skelly; Zubimendi, Norgaard; Madueke, Eze, Martinelli; Gyokeres.
It’s the first time Arsenal have won the Premier League since 2003-04 and they will no doubt want to go out with another victory. However, Mikel Arteta will also have one eye on next weekend’s Champions League final, so he must strike a balance in his starting XI.
Arsenal team news vs Crystal Palace
Arteta was an interesting dilemma, and one most managers would love to be in. Arsenal don’t have to fight for the title anymore so could give playing time to some of his fringe players — as we’ve seen with previous champions.
There’s even more of a case for that with Arsenal wanting to avoid injuries ahead of the Champions League final. But, Arteta will also want to keep his players match fresh.
Two players who will definitely miss out are Ben White and Jurrien Timber. The former will miss the last two matches — and the World Cup — but Timber is in line to return for the Champions League final. Yerson Mosquera is expected to continue at right-back in their stead.
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David Raya should recover from a slight injury worry to start in goal, chasing a 20th clean sheet of the season. Piero Hincapie could come in to replace one of the centre-backs, with Myles Lewis-Skelly an option at left-back.
Arteta has used games like this to rest Declan Rice at points in the season, and this could be another moment for him to start on the bench. The same goes for Martin Odegaard, who has suffered with injuries this year. Martin Zubimendi and Christian Norgaard will be among those hoping to make an impact.
Noni Madueke, Eberechi Eze and Gabriel Martinelli are the likely attacking trio, allowing Bukayo Saka and Leandro Trossard time to rest. Viktor Gyokeres is likely to lead the rotated line at Selhurst Park, with Kai Havertz very much Arteta’s first-choice.
Arsenal deserving champions
A lot has been said about Arsenal’s style of football this season, and their reliance on set-pieces. The Gunners do boast the highest set-piece Expected Goals in the Premier League at 22.9 and have broken the record for the most goals scored from corners in a single campaign.
But they also rank second for xG overall, at 71.49, scoring 69 goals. The Gunners rank third for big chances created (78) and third for shots on target (180). Arteta constantly has his side looking to breach the opposition defence, averaging 3.27 through-balls per game, the second-most in the Premier League. And they rank third for final third passes attempted and completed.
Of course, the Gunners are defensively strong, too. They’ve mastered the set-piece, allowing only 5.47 xG conceded from set-pieces, the lowest total in the Premier League this season. Arsenal have also only conceded 34.02 overall, again the lowest in the Premier League. It’s why they’ve only conceded 26 goals, and why Raya is chasing his 20th clean sheet with the Golden Glove already secured.