🕟 Kick Off: 16:00 GMT

🏟️ Venue: Selhurst Park

📺 UK Broadcaster: Sky Sports

🙎🏻‍♂️ Referee: Farai Hallam

📹 VAR: Nick Hopton

🔴 Arsenal Team News:

• Premier League Trophy: Will make its first appearance for Arsenal in 22 years. Freshly polished and engraved, ready to be lifted by club captain Martin Odegaard following the game.
• Jurrien Timber (Groin/Ankle): Ruled Out. Timber is progressing well but remains a step behind Merino. Arteta confirmed he won’t feature this weekend but is pushing hard to be fit for the bench against PSG in Budapest.
• Ben White (Knee): Ruled Out Long-term. White remains sidelined for the rest of the season due to the MCL injury picked up against West Ham.

⚽ Arsenal Form: 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟧

🦅 Crystal Palace Team News:

• Chris Richards (Ankle): Ruled Out. Tore two ligaments against Brentford last weekend.

⚽ Crystal Palace Form: 🟧🟥🟧🟩🟥

⚔️ Head-to-Head:

• Arsenal 1–1 (8–7 pen.) Crystal Palace (Dec 23, 2025, EFL Cup QF)
• Arsenal 1–0 Crystal Palace (Oct 26, 2025, Premier League)
• Arsenal 2–2 Crystal Palace (Apr 23, 2025, Premier League)
• Crystal Palace 1–5 Arsenal (Dec 21, 2024, Premier League)
• Arsenal 3–2 Crystal Palace (Ref: Dec 18, 2024, EFL Cup RO16)

📖 Match Facts:

• Crystal Palace cannot finish in European places and Arsenal cannot finish lower than 1st. Expect a heavily rotated side from both teams, with both teams preparing for European finals.

📸 Previously in the Premier League…

22 years ago Arsenal hoisted the Premier League trophy into the air at White Hart Lane in front of the travelling Arsenal fans. This was the last time Arsenal lifted the trophy until this Sunday where the trophy will return to our hands.

✍🏼 Pre-Match Ramblings

This is going to be a different one today, as I have nothing to say about this game, so I’m going to talk to you about family.

My paternal Grandfather was born in 1927 in Stepney, East London. By geography, he should’ve been a West Ham fan, but he wasn’t. As a boy in 1930s London, he would’ve witnessed Arsenal win 5 First Division titles, 2 under Chapman before his untimely passing. In his 20s he would’ve seen Arsenal win titles in 47-48 and 52-53, which was won on goal difference on the final day of the season. He would’ve had to wait another 17 years to see Arsenal lift another trophy.

In the late 60s my Dad was born in and spent the first years of his life in Bethnal Green, East London. If you’re not familiar with London, Bethnal Green sits almost perfectly centered between Highbury and Upton Park; Highbury being closer as the crow flies. Following on from his father, my Dad was born a Gooner.

In 1970 we won the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup (replaced by the UEFA Cup, now known as the Europa League), which would’ve been the first time my Dad was alive to see (although perhaps not comprehend) Arsenal lift a trophy. The following year, they saw Arsenal win the double after winning the league at White Hart Lane (for the first, but not the last time) and scoring 2 goals in extra time at Wembley against Liverpool to win the FA Cup. They would’ve witnessed that glorious day at Anfield in 1989, followed by the Graham “1-0 to the Arsenal” era. In the mid 90s they saw the arrival of Arsene, and witnessed the two doubles, before my Grandfather sadly passed away in 2003.

I was born in 2001, the season where we won the double, and I was 2 years old when The Invincibles became immortal. And then, the league titles stopped. An FA Cup win in 2005, which I don’t remember, was all we would win until winning another handful of FA Cups in the late-Wenger era, but no league titles.

My first game at the Emirates was an Emirates Cup game in the summer of 2014, when it used to actually be a mini tournament, and you would see multiple games in a day. It was the 2nd of August (which is the day I got married last year. Fun coincidence!). We beat Benfica 5-1 with 4 goals from Yaya Sanogo, but would not win the competition. My Dad bought be a red and white striped scarf that day, and it currently hangs behind me. I brought it to the Burnley game last week, and I’ll bring it to the parade next week.

22 years passed, and the stature of the club was diminished, we were the butt of all the jokes as we were overtaken by the likes of Chelsea and Man City and all their dodgy Russian and Middle Eastern money. Even Spurs would be bantering us last season when they won the Europa League.

But here we are. In 2026, me, my Brother, and my Dad are here to see us win the league – the first time me and my Brother have seen this happen as adults. It took us a while, but we all knew we’d be back here one day, and the amount of time we’ve had to wait makes this all the more sweeter.

Arsenal means so much more than football to a lot of people, and to me, it means family. My love for this club wasn’t something I chose, it wasn’t random, it was inherited. The same way my eyes are as dark as my Dads, the same way my hair is as curly as my Nans – this club runs through the DNA of my family. That is something that we all share, all over the world. Our love for this club ties us together like a family, and I wouldn’t change any part of my experience of being a Gooner.

COYG.