After a humiliating loss against West Ham in their season opener, Arsenal will be eager to get off the mark in the points tally as they face a tricky game against Crystal palace at Selhurst Park on Sunday.
Arsenal could not match to a resilient West Ham side last week and one can expect a similar performance from Crystal Palace, who always give their best, irrespective of the side they are playing against. Hence the game between the two could turn out to be an interesting affair.
To make things worse, Arsenal are playing away from home and Palace can be a huge threat at Selhurst Park, where their supporters could play a key role as the 12th man. The game will test Arsenal's character to the hilt.
Though it may be too early in the season, Arsenal have no other option but to leave Selhurst Park with three points, especially after title contenders such as Manchester United have won both games they have played. Liverpool and Manchester also having secured 3 points each from their first matches. Defending champions Chelsea drew their first game.
Another loss for Arsenal will leave them with six points away from the top.
Despite the loss, manager Arsene Wenger is not reading too much into their first game.
"We always respond well but a defeat is never a blessing," Wenger said. "It always hurts."
He said he wants to leave the loss behind and focus on the match ahead.
"We have analysed what happened and have not to go overboard, but that shouldn't take away our belief and potential.
"We were disappointed with the result and performance. When you want a strong season the way you respond to disappointment [is important] so we focus on our next match and prepare for that," he said.
Arsenal cannot afford to take Palace lightly as they put up an good performance against Norwich in their first game of the season and defeated them convincingly with the score reading 3-1. A victory in front of their home fans would delight manager Alan Pardew and his men.
Pardew will be asking players such as Puncheon, Wilfred Zaha and Gayle to scare the Arsenal defenders as they are all capable of.
Wenger is also aware of the threat Palace possess and feels they have played together for some time now and are a good team.
"Palace have good offensive potential, are strong defensively [and have] played together for a long time. We know every Premier League match can be a tough one so we prepare for that," said Wenger.
Arsene Wenger must be pleased, as key player Alexis Sanchez, who came from the bench against West Ham, will start for the Gunners.
Where to Watch Live
Arsenal vs Crystal Palace match is schedule for 1:30pm local time (6pm IST, 8:30am ET) with live Tv coverage in India on Star Sports1/HD and live streaming onstarsports.com and Hostar.
Viewers in the UK can enjoy Arsenal vs Crystal Palace live on Sky Sports1/HD with an option of going online on Sky GO.
US viewers can get all the live coverage of the Arsenal vs Crystal Palace match on NBC Sports with live streaming on NBC Sports Live Extra.
