Palace Preview: A Story of Two Semi-Finals?

Oh, man. Okay, so it’s match day against Crystal Palace tonight. We’re playing at home, which is great, but honestly, everyone’s got their eyes glued more on this whole European semi-final extravaganza with PSG. I mean, it’s not like tonight’s game doesn’t matter—of course it does—just not as much when you’ve got such a massive thing hanging over your head. And Mikel Arteta, bless him, had to field all these questions about whether he’d bench his key players to keep ‘em fresh for PSG. His take? Basically, when players are fit and eager, you just gotta let ’em play. Keeps the mojo flowing, you know?

And then there’s that whole ‘options’ dilemma. Not a ton to choose from this evening, especially with injuries and all that jazz. Like, Jorginho’s sidelined with this rib thing—ouch—and Riccardo Calafiori’s not ready either. But hey, might see Thomas Partey back in action after missing the Ipswich game. There’s this bit of a sticky situation: Do you try out the Rice, Merino, Odegaard combo tonight or save it for PSG? Tricky.

Oh, and don’t get me started on Bukayo Saka. Guy took a gnarly hit on the Achilles last Sunday, and it’s like—do you rest him? Or risk him? Arteta thinks it’s not serious, so maybe he’ll play. It’s like this old balancing act of what could go wrong and ensuring he’s in top form for PSG. I’d probably play it safe, but hey, Arteta and Saka are like, kinda inseparable. We’ll see.

Switching gears to Palace. Their FA Cup semi-final’s looming too, and Coach Oliver Glasner’s probably plotting like a madman about who to keep fresh for Aston Villa. He’s mentioned two or three tweaks, so we’re not expecting the full squad shuffle. Means we’ve got a real fight on our hands tonight.

In a dream scenario, we’d waltz out of this with no bumps, no fuss, just three solid points. Maybe even with some time post-match to kick back and plan for PSG. But with both our sides probably thinking ahead, who’s betting on that actually happening? Let’s see.

Oh, yeah, then folks started yakking about Saka’s contract during the presser. Linked to Andrea Berta’s to-do list for the summer, I guess. Arteta was all chill about it, like “We’ll discuss when the time’s right.” Saka seems to know what he wants, so fingers crossed it’s all squared away soon.

And there’s talk about this Gunners for Peace group making waves over that Visit Rwanda sponsorship. The deal’s done this summer, and seems we’re likely to slap someone else’s name on the sleeves by next season. Interesting drama, though. Makes you ponder deeply about where the cash in football’s rolling in from.

To wrap things up, there’s a live show coming up at Union Chapel with ArsenalVision. Patrons get first dibs on tickets today around, uh, 2 pm, and there’s a general sale tomorrow morning for the rest. Jump to Patreon for deets, plus there’s a Crystal Palace podcast and all that good stuff. Alright, I’m done rambling for now. Join later for the live stuff on the blog – match coverage, reactions, ratings, the whole shebang.

Let’s do this! Come on, you reds!