Arsenal, like in 2021/22, kick off the upcoming Premier League season on a Friday night.
Mikel Arteta and co., though, will be looking to avoid a repeat of their opening day performance vs Brentford last year, which saw them lose 2-0.
This year will see Arsenal kick off the Premier League season vs Patrick Vieira’s Crystal Palace.
Palace have become something of a bogey team for the Gunners, who have failed to beat the Eagles in seven of their last eight meetings.
The last time the pair met, Palace smashed the north Londoners 3-0 on April 4th, a result that began Arsenal’s collapse and ultimately saw them miss out on the top-four in 2021/22.
Ahead of Friday’s game, Emile Smith Rowe has all but confirmed he will not be starting for Arsenal vs Palace.
The midfielder has a groin injury and is not back training with the team yet.
“I am getting there,” said Smith Rowe, when asked by Standard Sport if he is fully fit ahead of Friday’s match at Crystal Palace.
“We are going to see what happens. I am going to be training this week, so hopefully I can be back with the team.
“It’s just my groin at the moment, I am getting a bit of pain in there. It’s getting better and I should be back soon.”
Smith Rowe’s injury means we will more than likely see Gabriel Martinelli, Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka start behind Gabriel Jesus this coming Friday.
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