From the high of defeating their arch rivals to lift a trophy, to the low of losing to a relatively smaller club at home and seeing a disastrous performance by the player who was supposed to lead the team to Premier League glory, football is a funny game. Arsenal looked set to continue their great performance against West Ham but ended up losing 2-0 to the Hammers with Petr Cech being blamed for both the goals.
Arsenal have to pick themselves up as they now face a Crystal Palace side who did extremely well to win the first game of the season, and are always difficult to play against at home. Arsenal should continue playing with Petr Cech in goal, despite his mistakes, as we look at the three key battles in the game which could decide which way the points go.
Yanick Bolasie vs. Hector Bellerin
Bolasie blows hot and cold during games, sometimes he is the best winger in the league and other times he looks like a Sunday league footballer. Bellerin would probably be up against the English winger, who is a tricky customer to deal with. Can the young defender do well against an unpredictable player? If Bolasie does start the game with the bit between his teeth, it could be a tough day for Bellerin and Arsenal’s defence.
Yohan Cabaye vs. Santi Cazorla
The battle in midfield will be interesting; Yohan Cabaye came back to England and performed like he was always playing at Palace for the past 2-3 years. Credit must be given to Palace and Pardew for signing Cabaye from PSG, and it seems that the French midfielder’s manager from Newcastle knows how to get the best out of him. He would be eager to do well against Santi Cazorla, who had a rather off game against West Ham but the Spaniard will be hopeful of a better run out against Palace.
Joel Ward vs. Alexis Sanchez
This could be the battle that decides whether Arsenal get something out of the game or not. Sanchez might not have played all that much due to his role in Chile’s Copa America win but he should start for the Gunners this time around as they look to get some points on the board but he could be shackled really well by Joel Ward. The right-back will be part of an extremely well-drilled Crystal Palace team set out by Alan Pardew and if he does keep Sanchez quiet, Palace have a chance of nicking more than just a point against their fellow Londoners.
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