[](https://i0.wp.com/woolwich1886.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Screenshot-2024-12-20-at-8.46.14%E2%80%AFPM.png?ssl=1)
Okay, so he pronounces his name “ezzeh”, so my little play on “easy” doesn’t quite make the cut. Then again, neither will the player himself because a foot injury has knocked him out of today’s clash, and this does make Palace’s position that much more precarious. Only three sides have scored fewer goals than Palace have—and those are Wolves, Everton, and Southampton. Eze has played a role in three of the Eagles’ 17 goals, but there are bigger issues potentially working in our favour.
First, there’s not a whole to take away from our midweek victory in the League Cup. The 3-2 scoreline might offer Palace some encouragement. Neither side is likely to have discovered any deep secrets about the other. For as much encouragement as they might take from denying us any goals from corner kicks, they’ll suffer perhaps even more discouragement from seeing Jesus bag a hat-trick in less than half an hour, all from free-flowing open-play attacks that saw their defense offer all of the resistance of tissue at a snot party.
For those wondering whether Palace will offer greater resistance and verve because they’ll be at Selhurst Park, it might be worth pointing out that Palace are actually somewhat better away from home (1W 4D 3L, -4 GD) than they are at home (2W 3D 3L 0 GD). That said, they _have_ hosted Liverpool, Tottenham, and Man City—oh, and Man U, and their away fixtures have been considerably softer. In those “BIg Six” clashes, they did do tolerably well, losing 0-1 to Liverpool and drawing against Man U and Man City while besting Tottenham. It’s a bit of a muddle. Eze or not, Palace are a tough nut to crack. Their heaviest loss was 0-2 to West Ham; they haven’t conceded more than two goals in any match other Wednesday’s 3-2 loss to us. They’re living on the wrong side of fine margins.
We’d do well to learn from their early goal against us when Mateta beat Kiwior to a ball played well beyond our high press and, well, beyond every player but Kiwior, who misplayed the ball horribly and couldn’t recover. Something tells me that Mateta, for as talismanic as he’s been for Palace, may have a harder time against a back-four that isn’t Tierney-Timber-Kiwior-Partey. A Calafiori-Saliba-Gabi-Timber back-four should offer more resistance. That…that was a lot of hyphens all at once.
As for our own attack, Jesus laid down a fairly clear marker for starting again. Yes, he scored for the first time in what feels like recorded history, but it wasn’t just the goals. He looked lively, incisive, and alert in his movement off the ball and his decisions with it. His interplay with Saka and Ødegaard felt like they’d been playing together week-in and week-out, and it really does feel like he should lead the line again today. Those might like to see Havertz at the tip of the spear might content themselves with seeing Havertz as the tip with Jesus as the left blade.
It almost goes without saying that we simply have to take all three from this fixture. We’ll have to be practically perfect from this point forward if we’re to overtake both Chelsea and Liverpool. It’s an old, tired, hoary cliche, but there simply are no easy fixtures…well, maybe Wolves and Southampton. Palace may sit just a few points from the drop-zone, but we’ll have to approach this one as if they are fighting for a top-four finish.
My prediction? Palace 2-3 Arsenal. A mirror-image of the midweek result, as it were. Share your own predictions in the comments-section.