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Arsenal will be heading into the game against Crystal Palace full of confidence after coming away from their opening game of the season with three points.
In what was a comfortable game until the final 15 minutes, Mikel Arteta will have liked what he saw from his new-ish group of players with several debuts being made.
With the short trip to Crystal Palace on Monday evening, the Gunners will be hoping to win their second consecutive league game.
They will be without Jurrien Timber though with the new signing picking up a serious knee injury in their Premier League opening but with added strength in depth, it shouldn’t be an issue for Arteta.
Who is missing for the clash against Palace?
Arteta will still be without Gabriel Jesus who continues to recover from a knee injury although the goalscoring start from Eddie Nketiah will allay fears of a blunt attack.
Arteta does hope to have Oleksandr Zinchenko back among the squad after the Ukrainian international picked up an injury in pre-season which has meant his progress has been slow coming back.
David Raya is likely to make his first appearance in an Arsenal shirt, albeit from the bench with the Spaniard being brought in to provide competition for Aaron Ramsdale.
Albert Sambi Lokonga, Nicolas Pepe, Cedric Soares and Nuno Tavares continue to be linked with a summer exit. All four were absent in Arsenal’s Community Shield win over Manchester City and 2-1 victory over Forest.
Who will replace Jurrien Timber?
Arteta deployed a unique system against Forest last weekend, with Thomas Partey being deployed as a right-back. The experienced midfielder saw plenty of the ball, and with Tomiyasu coming on to replace Timber against Forest, it’s likely the Ghanian will continue at full-back against Palace.
What may further help his cause is the uncertainty surrounding Kieran Tierney’s future at the Emirates, with the Scotland international being heavily linked with moves to Newcastle United and Celtic in recent weeks.
