Having been denied a reunion with their former Invincibles captain, Arsenal welcome managerless Crystal Palace to the Emirates Stadium for Sunday afternoon’s Premier League London derby.

The Gunners can surge eight points clear at the top of the table with victory, while the Eagles gave Patrick Vieira the boot on Friday amid a 12-game winless run.

Players to watch: Arsenal skipper Martin Ødegaard has a 100% winning record from the eight games in which he has scored this season.

Palace forward Wilfried Zaha is also unbeaten when finding the back of the net this season (W3, D2) and will be looking to improve upon a record of just three wins from 15 meetings with the Gunners (D5, L7).

Hot stat: Crystal Palace’s away matches are averaging 1.92 goals per game this season, the lowest in the PL. No

Arsenal Premier League form:

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Arsenal form (all competitions):

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Crystal Palace Premier League form:

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Arsenal possible starting lineup:

Ramsdale; White, Holding, Gabriel, Tierney; Odegaard, Partey, Xhaka; Saka, Trossard, Martinelli

Crystal Palace possible starting lineup:

Whitworth; Clyne, Andersen, Guehi, Mitchell; Hughes, Doucoure, Schlupp; Olise, Edouard, Zaha

Arsenal 2-0 Crystal Palace

Understandably fearing the classic new manager bounce given what happened against Sean Dyche’s Everton, such concerns from Gooners should prove unfounded against a shot-shy Palace side rocked by a change in the hierarchy.

Even with jellied legs working against them, Arteta named several first-teamers on the bench in midweek and has an abundance of options for change, so we do not expect any shocks to be sprung on the Emirates turf as Arsenal increase their advantage at the top.