The latest Arsenal team news and predicted starting XI ahead of their Premier League match against Crystal Palace.
Arsenal will take to the field as Premier League champions for the first time in over two decades when they make the short trip across London to take on Crystal Palace this Sunday – but their line-up could feel rather unfamiliar as Mikel Arteta rests and rotates his squad ahead of next weekend’s Champions League final.
Bukayo Saka & David Raya could be rested against Crystal Palace.placeholder image
Bukayo Saka & David Raya could be rested against Crystal Palace. | Getty Images
David Raya, Jurriën Timber and Mikel Merino all come into the weekend as injury doubts, while Bukayo Saka and William Saliba are among the players who could be given a day off as Arteta shuffles his pack to keep his players fit ahead of next Sunday’s showdown with PSG in Hungary.
With a number of changes likely, we’ve collected all of the latest Arsenal team news and injury updates below, along with our prediction for Arteta’s starting XI - and if you’re here in search of news which will help your Fantasy Premier League team out, you can find all of the latest FPL injury news by clicking here.
Raya, Timber & Merino among Arsenal injury concerns
Four Arsenal players are carrying fitness issues into Sunday’s game, with Raya’s status perhaps the most uncertain as it stands. The Spaniard sustained a back injury towards the end of last Monday’s 1-0 win over Burnley, and appeared to be in considerable discomfort.
Raya confirmed in a press interview after the game that he had suffered “a dead back, a dead glute and a dead shoulder,” and although he added that he expected to be “fine” for the Crystal Palace match, he missed training on Wednesday and there is speculation that Arteta will rest him in order to give him the best chance of being fully fit for the Champions League final.
Right-back Timber, meanwhile, won’t be involved as he continues his drawn-out rehabilitation from a groin injury. Arteta told the media during his Friday pre-match press conference that he had “hope” that the Dutchman would play in Budapest next weekend, and that he believed it would be “a matter of days” before Timber returned to full training – but he won’t be on the field against Palace.
Another long-term injury victim, Merino, could feature however. The 29-year-old has been battling to come back after surgery on a fractured foot, and Arteta has said that he will train on Saturday with an eye on the possibility that he plays at Selhurst Park. If he is available, it is expected that he will begin the game on the bench.
The only player currently ruled out for both the games against Crystal Palace and PSG is Ben White, who suffered a significant knee injury during the contentious win over West Ham. White is expected to be sidelined for at least two months based on typical timelines for recovery, and could be a doubt for the start of the 2026/27 season.
Saka & Saliba among players who could be rested against Crystal Palace
Amidst speculation that Arteta will rest key players against Crystal Palace in order to keep them fresh for the Champions League final, both Saka and Saliba reportedly sat out training on Wednesday – suggesting that the pair could be dropped from the starting line-up this Sunday.
Wednesday’s training session came in the wake of the club’s title celebrations, which reportedly went on until 5am in the morning after Manchester City’s draw with Bournemouth confirmed that Arsenal would lift the title for the first time in 22 years, but it is believed that all other fully fit players took part aside from Saka and Saliba.
Riccardo Calafiori, who was substituted in the second half against Burnley after he recently returned from a knock, is also a strong candidate to be left out of the starting XI this weekend.
Another player who could miss out on Sunday is teenage winger Max Dowman, who missed training this week in order to sit his GCSE exams. The 16-year-old, who is now the youngest player ever to earn a Premier League winner’s medal, will be available to travel with the squad but is unlikely to start having been unable to practice in full.
Predicted Arsenal starting XI vs. Crystal Palace (4-2-3-1): Arrizabalaga; Lewis-Skelly, Gabriel, Hincapié, Mosquera; Rice, Zubimendi; Martinelli, Ødegaard, Madueke; Havertz.
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