The return to duty of Doucoure should lift Crystal Palace against a vibrant Arsenal side. — AP
ARSENAL’S march toward what would be their first league title since 2004 looks set to continue this weekend when they welcome London rivals Crystal Palace to the Emirates Stadium.
The Premiership’s most in-form team and leaders of the league by five points, the Gunners look almost certain to add the Eagles to their growing list of defeated adversaries, despite their loss to Sporting Lisbon in the Europa League in midweek.
The fashion in which Arsenal are winning is what will antagonise champions Manchester City the most. Second on the table, the Citizens have watched Mikel Arteta’s side come from behind to win matches that, on any other day or against any other team in that situation, they might not have won.
And when you consider that they clinched the three points with goals deep into the game, it’s difficult to see how they won’t go on to win British football’s most coveted trophy.
What springs to mind here is the game against Bournemouth, whom they beat 3-2 after twice going behind, and the 4-2 victory over Aston Villa, who led 2-0 before crumbling in the face of a quite remarkable fightback by the Gunners.
The victories over Fulham (3-0) and Everton (4-0) were crafted with a lot more ease, as were the maximum points earned from the clash with Leicester City, albeit with a solitary strike from Brazilian winger Gabriel Martinelli.
Skipper Martin Odegaard has been instrumental in helping Arsenal to a healthy lead at the top of the standings with no more than 11 games to go until the end of the season.
He proved that again against Fulham, who have been no pushovers this term and who have established themselves as genuine contenders for European football next season, notwithstanding their no-show when the Gunners came knocking last weekend.
Arsenal have been boosted by the return to action of Gabriel Jesus. The centre-forward, who came on as a substitute at Carrow Road, had been out injured since the World Cup.
His presence will almost surely add another dimension to the Gunners’ push for the title, and it will start against Palace in the only league fixture scheduled for tomorrow, on a weekend when the FA Cup quarterfinals have also been scheduled.
Palace might consider themselves a bit hard done by after narrow defeats at the hands of Manchester City and Aston Villa, and the goalless draw with Liverpool, which many thought they might have won.
But it is their run without a win in 2023 that worries their fans and manager Patrick Vieira, who has called for more time to eke out an elusive win and added that he “still believes” in his squad.
The Frenchman, who was Arsenal’s captain when they last won the league, should have defensive midfielder Cheick Doucoure back in the side. The Mali international served his one-match suspension and featured against high-flying Brighton and Hove Albion in midweek.
There’s a lot of speculation surrounding Palace winger Wilfried Zaha’s future at the club.
His contract comes to an end in June and his performances in the run-up to the end of the campaign will no doubt continue to draw all sorts of talk.
A telling display against the Gunners would go some way towards reassuring the fans of his reported “commitment” to the club.
With all this, Arsenal will still be expected to see off the challenge of an Eagles side that will be desperate for a win of their own.
