As we prepare to face Palace at The Emirates on Thursday night, the team news coming out of the club is good for a change.

They are saying that Gabriel Martinelli’s ankle looks to have fixed itself and he ‘will return to full training with the squad in the next few days’. So, while there is a slim chance he could make the game tonight, its more likely he will miss out and return against Newcastle in the league on Monday.

Following his coronavirus diagnosis Gabriel is back and ready to play after missing the last few games. However, you have to ask whether or not Mikel Arteta would be keen to break up the recent Mari/Holding centre back pairing which has done so well in recent weeks.

The word on the street is that Thomas Partey could also return to the fold after his recent thigh injury which should give the squad a huge boost.

We often struggle against Palace and drew 2-2 last season at The Emirates and 1-1 at Selhurst Park.
However, if we could grab a win, it would see us move to within just four points of Tottenham who won the league a few weeks ago.

The game kicks off at 8pm UK time this evening and can be watched LIVE on Amazon Prime.

On a separate note, it’s just been announced that our FA Cup 4th round tie, will be played next Saturday 23rd of January, kicking off at 12:15pm. We will play either Shrewsbury Town or Southampton who play their third round game next Tuesday.