A Monday night match will give Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta a couple of extra days to prepare for the Crystal Palace fixture.

Considering we are coming off the back of an international break, it could be vitally important, but Palace won’t be an easy game. Patrick Vieira has got the Eagles well organised and, while they haven’t had much luck with results recently, they are a hard nut to crack.

In terms of team news, the Gunners may have to wait and see whether any players return from international duty with knocks but, for the time being at least, Granit Xhaka (knee) is the only member of the first-team squad who has been ruled out of contention.

Palace have two long-term absentees in Eberechi Eze and Nathan Ferguson who both sustained serious Achilles injuries at the back end of last season.

The bookies have made Arsenal the favourites with Betfred currently pricing them at 4/6 odds-on to win. A draw is 3/1 with the same bookmaker while a victory for the Eagles is 5/1 at Bet365.

Predicted Score – 1-1