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Arsenal stumbled off the top of the Premier League in the week as Manchester City powered past them with a 5-1 win away at Tottenham Hotspur.
The Gunners will be desperate to go back on top of the pile with City playing Chelsea next. Chelsea also had a hiccup in the week as they failed to break down West Ham at Stamford Bridge. Arsene Wenger will know the importance of being at the top of the league before negotiating a difficult set of fixtures in February and March.
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Mikel Arteta is back, but Flamini is suspended and Wilshere and Ramsey are injured. The centre of midfield suddenly looks paper thin, and this was evident in the Gunners’ draw against Southampton in the week, where, especially in the first half, they were outplayed.
Lukas Podolski is constantly watching from the bench despite proving his ability, and Santi Cazorla has found goal scoring form at the right time. Tomas Rosicky will return to the squad after suffering from a broken nose. After a shaky performance on Tuesday night, Monreal could make way for the fit again Keiran Gibbs at left-back.
Goalkeeper: Woijech Szczesny
Szczesny didn’t cover himself in glory against Southampton for the first goal, but the Pole has arguably been the best goalkeeper in the division this season. For someone so young, it is extremely impressive.
At just 23, Szczesny recently played his 100thgame for Arsenal. Szczesny averages over two saves a game and keeps goal for an Arsenal side which has one of the best defences in the league. Szczesny has got to start between the sticks for Sunday’s game.
Right-Back: Bacary Sagna
Sagna has been brilliant for Arsenal this season, and his form leaves question marks over why he is yet to sign a new contract. Surely Arsenal are willing to offer him more than a one-year extension, he has been a great servant to the club and deserves, within reason, what he wants.
If Sagna is stalling, then it is more understandable, even though Arsenal are battling for the title, Bacary will be desperate to secure some silverware before his career ends, and with PSG heavily linked, this would be a decent opportunity for the Frenchman.
Centre-Back: Per Mertesacker
Arsenal’s best performer this season, Mertesacker has a Squawka Performance Score of 737. The experienced German has become an indispensable member of the squad and his exclusion from the starting eleven, when fit, has become incomprehensible. If Vermaelen decides to move on in the summer in search of more regular game time, Per would surely be the most likely to take the captaincy.
Centre-Back: Laurent Koscielny
Koscielny has been in very good form of late and is rightfully getting mentioned amongst the best defenders in the division. He is keeping Vermaelen watching from the sidelines and giving Arsene Wenger no reason to drop him.
Despite conceding twice in the week against Southampton, Arsenal have often looked impenetrable at the back when Mertesacker and Koscielny play together. He wins a massive 63% of his tackles and is an essential part of this title challenging Arsenal team.
Laurent Koscielny stats
Left-Back: Keiran Gibbs
Nacho Monreal has been given an extended run in the team following Gibbs’ absence. Until Tuesday, Monreal had looked comfortable and professional in the role, but against Southampton he looked nervous and erratic, making several mistakes.
There is a feeling that Monreal is stronger defensively, but Gibbs has improved in this area massively, and even wins 52% of his aerial duels in comparison to Monreal who wins just 40%. It looks time to freshen the Arsenal XI up a bit, and Gibbs coming back in against Crystal Palace looks to be a wise switch.
Central-Midfield: Mikel Arteta
Arteta is back from a spell on the sidelines, but he didn’t look fully fit against Southampton. However, Arsenal have little choice in terms of who they select to play in the central midfield positions.
Arteta, with a 92% pass accuracy is an essential cog in the Arsenal line-up, especially with Flamini out injured. He is also very strong in the tackle, making 33 successful ones this season. An interesting statistic is that Arteta completes 91% of his attempted take ons, more than any other Arsenal player.
Central-Midfield: Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
Chamberlain has played just 82 Premier League minutes this season, so throwing him in with a start against Crystal Palace would be a risk, but after several cameo appearances and a start in the Capital One Cup, he looks to be ready again for Premier League action.
Tomas Rosicky has the ability to play in this role, but Arsene seems keen to test Chamberlain in the heart of midfield. His energy levels will be vital. Arteta could provide freedom for Chamberlain to express his attacking abilities he has shown when playing on the wing.
Attacking-Midfield: Mesut Ozil
Mesut Ozil looked on brilliant form against Southampton; the German was unlucky to not get on the score sheet, but notched up yet another assist. The £40million German attacking midfielder has become a mainstay in the Arsenal team at number 10, and his creative talents make him an essential part of it.
He is Arsenal’s assist leader in the league, with eight assists. He has also managed 44 key passes; the next closest Arsenal player to this is Santi Cazorla with 29. Despite sometimes not being at his best, Arsenal cannot really afford not to play Mesut Ozil.
Right-Wing: Santi Cazorla
Cazorla has been on fine form of late, with five goals in his last five. Earlier this season I wrote an article for Squawka about how Cazorla was struggling for form, and notably for goals and assists. His position became under threat. However, his fortunes have changed and his goals are becoming vital to Arsenal.
Hopefully for Gunners fans this form can continue and if so he will have no worries about his World Cup place, something which was a concern before he hit form. He has an 86% pass success rate and has now scored four league goals, as well and two in two in the FA Cup.
Santi Cazorla stats
Left-Wing: Lukas Podolski
Gnabry was arguably Man of the Match in Arsenal’s 2-0 win against Tottenham this month, and in Theo Walcott’s absence, the young German has a proved his first team quality. However, after a run of starts in the first team, he could do with a rest ahead of a demanding February.
On form and underused, Lukas Podolski should replace Gnabry against Palace. Arsene says Podolski is not full fit, but with two goals against Coventry last week, Lukas showed he is fit enough to perform and score goals. Arsene will need him on top form for the rest of the season, so using him against Palace on the left would be advisable.
Striker: Olivier Giroud
Giroud has picked up some goalscoring form recently, and with 10 league goals already, he will be confident of reaching 20, especially with no new striker looking likely to arrive at the Emirates. With Podolski failing to impress up front and Bendtner’s struggles obvious, Giroud is an essential part of the Arsenal eleven.
Olivier Giroud stats
Following goals in consecutive games against Coventry and West Ham, the Frenchman will hope we can re-capture some of his early season form.
