Tim Stillman’s Match Preview

In the first of a new written series, here’s Tim with a preview of Arsenal v Palace.

Arsenal look set to face Crystal Palace on Sunday without Aaron Ramsey. The Welshman has become so valuable to the Gunners because he bridges the gap between a third midfielder and a fourth attacker, essentially playing two roles in one. It’s a balance Emery has struggled with all season, between securing the midfield and sacrificing some offensive potential, or else losing a bit of structure and leaning into the squad’s attacking strength.

With Ramsey’s most recent hamstring injury, Unai Emery will have more cause to rely on Mesut Ozil. A cooling in relations between Ozil and Emery has taken place in recent weeks, but the German’s omission from away matches at Watford and Napoli suggests the manager still has some leftover trust issues with Mesut.

Against Crystal Palace Ozil’s presence will be crucial, with Granit Xhaka and Lucas Torreira likely to join Ramsey on the sidelines on Sunday. At Everton Emery was forced to field a double pivot of Guendouzi and Elneny which saw the team sacrifice technical control in the midfield. Without Xhaka’s moderate value passing, Ozil’s ability to knit play together in deeper areas becomes extra important.

Ozil cannot replicate Ramsey’s qualities, which are unique in the Arsenal squad. But he is not exactly short of his own qualities and he has an opportunity now to put a stamp on the team in the final weeks in the way that Ramsey managed. The Welshman was also used sparingly in the autumn and Mesut is not exactly coming in from the cold at this point.

While there does seem to be a truce between Ozil and Emery, it has a temporary feel about it, a mutual tolerance rather more than anything. Ozil could go a long way to re-establishing his reputation at Arsenal and earning his manager’s trust on a longer term basis. Arsenal have 5 league games left and a cup semi-final on the horizon, Mesut needs to become a consistent reference point.