Crystal Palace v. THE PREMIER LEAGUE CHAMPIONS, Arsenal FC, Sunday May 24, 2026, 1600 GMT

mebeSajid · May 19, 2026

I remember the days when watching the Premier League was rather difficult in the states. Days when the only way to really follow the Arsenal was to bootleg streams using freeware like Sopcast, which had a 50/50 shot at best of working. Unless the games were on Fox Soccer channel, which wasn't all that common. Or the games were on Setanta Sports, which was terrible and whose only contribution was a far-too-shortlived spoof of Jose. I couldn't find a captioned image of that Jose saying "Be Champions!" for the other thread, so I settled or Frodo saying "It's Done." from The Return of the King. I had to go back and check to be sure, but The Return of The King was released during the last season that Arsenal had won the league. It's been a minute.

The first time I really watched an Arsenal game was as a senior in college. The Big Cup quarterfinal second leg in 2004, a game of which we do not speak around these parts, was on ESPN playing on the big tv at the student center. The first full season I really, truly followed Arsenal was the 07/08 season: the season after Arsenal sold Thierry Henry. Somewhat naively, I thought we'd win the league easily that year and rename Bill Simmons's "Ewing Theory" to "Henry Theory." That was the first time Arsenal broke my heart, but it would be far from the only time that happened.

There was the CL semifinal in 08/09, where Kieran Gibbs slipped, purseboy hit an unbelievable free kick, and that was that. There was the 09/10 season, when Van Persie broke his ankle in a stupid friendly and we couldn't score for a month. The season after that, when there was a stupid ricochet in the league cup final and we led in the Nou Camp against peak-Barcelona in the second leg, only for the referee to decide who got to win. As an aside, I was a first year law student that season, and may have screamed absurdly loudly in the law library when Arshavin scored THAT GOAL in the first leg. Any curious reactions by other law students were probably unrelated and due to something else.

And then everyone good left. Fabregas. Nasri. Clichy. Sagna. Van Persie. We didn't come close to a trophy that actually mattered for years after that: the closest (IMO) was the 13/14 season where the title challenge really collapsed when Walcott tore his ACL in January against Tottenhan, though we'll always remember Theo signing the scoreboard to the crowd as he was stretchered off. The seasons after that? They become a blur. Except for Wenger: I probably wouldn't be posting this thread if it weren't for him, and he deserves a tribute today in a way that's more fulsome than a callout in a match thread. The way the club handled his departure always makes me sad. He probably stayed too long, but he deserved better than the way the club treated him.

Even worse than the way his departure was handled was his successor. Unai was awful, and Unai delenda est. Thankfully, we need not rely on Unai on Sunday and can be Freiburg fans for a day tomorrow. But part of me thinks that the plan was always: you never want to me the successor to the iconic manager. You want to be the successor to the successor, and I want to believe the plan was always to replace Emery with Arteta.

Arteta came into an impossible situation: COVID shut everything down three months into his first managerial job, with an aging squad in key places and no tactical identity. But he showed real grit and toughness, and molded it into a squad with some truly likeable players. We've been the best team in the league the last four years, but something always held us back: there was the Saliba injury in 2023, and the bad run of form at the beginning of the 2023/2024 season (the second half of that season, on the other hand, was absolutely majestic). And there was the referees' conspiracy last season.

But there were little bits of joy too. There were the FA Cups, especially "Two-nil down Three-Two Up" and the two final wins against the Chavs. And so many games that gave you hope: the two 5-2 games, the 3-0 wins against United and Chelsea in back to back seasons. There was THAT JACK WILSHERE GOAL, where I'm sure that 20% of the youtube views are me. The bits of joy are why I kept coming back: ask any Jets fan how necessary they are.

There isn't much I can say about this season, as we've all lived through it: it's been exhausting and exhilarating at the same time. Arsenal are the Premier League Champions. I've never typed that before.

And throughout so much of the history I've outlined above, there's been this forum. This was the second forum I ever posted to, but you guys have been a part of my life in ways that are kind of difficult to describe: I've posted here from three different continents, at least ten different countries, more than a few airplanes, more hospital waiting rooms than I care to admit, and with three different kids in my arms.

I love you guys. Even @Rewinder.

Moving Pictures: Yes
Time: 1600 GMT/1100 EDT/1000 CDT/0600 Hawaii Time/0200 AEST
Location: The Ruins of THE CRYSTAL PALACE, aka Selhurst Park

PS, how do I get tickets for Palace? Tempted to go now.

thebigman · May 19, 2026

mebeSajid said: ↑

I remember the days when watching the Premier League was rather difficult in the states. Days when the only way to really follow the Arsenal was to bootleg streams using freeware like Sopcast, which had a 50/50 shot at best of working. Unless the games were on Fox Soccer channel, which wasn't all that common. Or the games were on Setanta Sports, which was terrible and whose only contribution was a far-too-shortlived spoof of Jose. I couldn't find a captioned image of that Jose saying "Be Champions!" for the other thread, so I settled or Frodo saying "It's Done." from The Return of the King. I had to go back and check to be sure, but The Return of The King was released during the last season that Arsenal had won the league. It's been a minute.

The first time I really watched an Arsenal game was as a senior in college. The Big Cup quarterfinal second leg in 2004, a game of which we do not speak around these parts, was on ESPN playing on the big tv at the student center. The first full season I really, truly followed Arsenal was the 07/08 season: the season after Arsenal sold Thierry Henry. Somewhat naively, I thought we'd win the league easily that year and rename Bill Simmons's "Ewing Theory" to "Henry Theory." That was the first time Arsenal broke my heart, but it would be far from the only time that happened.

There was the CL semifinal in 08/09, where Kieran Gibbs slipped, purseboy hit an unbelievable free kick, and that was that. There was the 09/10 season, when Van Persie broke his ankle in a stupid friendly and we couldn't score for a month. The season after that, when there was a stupid ricochet in the league cup final and we led in the Nou Camp against peak-Barcelona in the second leg, only for the referee to decide who got to win. As an aside, I was a first year law student that season, and may have screamed absurdly loudly in the law library when Arshavin scored THAT GOAL in the first leg. Any curious reactions by other law students were probably unrelated and due to something else.

And then everyone good left. Fabregas. Nasri. Clichy. Sagna. Van Persie. We didn't come close to a trophy that actually mattered for years after that: the closest (IMO) was the 13/14 season where the title challenge really collapsed when Walcott tore his ACL in January against Tottenhan, though we'll always remember Theo signing the scoreboard to the crowd as he was stretchered off. The seasons after that? They become a blur. Except for Wenger: I probably wouldn't be posting this thread if it weren't for him, and he deserves a tribute today in a way that's more fulsome than a callout in a match thread. The way the club handled his departure always makes me sad. He probably stayed too long, but he deserved better than the way the club treated him.

Even worse than the way his departure was handled was his successor. Unai was awful, and Unai delenda est. Thankfully, we need not rely on Unai on Sunday and can be Freiburg fans for a day tomorrow. But part of me thinks that the plan was always: you never want to me the successor to the iconic manager. You want to be the successor to the successor, and I want to believe the plan was always to replace Emery with Arteta.

Arteta came into an impossible situation: COVID shut everything down three months into his first managerial job, with an aging squad in key places and no tactical identity. But he showed real grit and toughness, and molded it into a squad with some truly likeable players. We've been the best team in the league the last four years, but something always held us back: there was the Saliba injury in 2023, and the bad run of form at the beginning of the 2023/2024 season (the second half of that season, on the other hand, was absolutely majestic). And there was the referees' conspiracy last season.

But there were little bits of joy too. There were the FA Cups, especially "Two-nil down Three-Two Up" and the two final wins against the Chavs. And so many games that gave you hope: the two 5-2 games, the 3-0 wins against United and Chelsea in back to back seasons. There was THAT JACK WILSHERE GOAL, where I'm sure that 20% of the youtube views are me. The bits of joy are why I kept coming back: ask any Jets fan how necessary they are.

There isn't much I can say about this season, as we've all lived through it: it's been exhausting and exhilarating at the same time. Arsenal are the Premier League Champions. I've never typed that before.

And throughout so much of the history I've outlined above, there's been this forum. This was the second forum I ever posted to, but you guys have been a part of my life in ways that are kind of difficult to describe: I've posted here from three different continents, at least ten different countries, more than a few airplanes, more hospital waiting rooms than I care to admit, and with three different kids in my arms.

I love you guys. Even @Rewinder.

Moving Pictures: Yes
Time: 1600 GMT/1100 EDT/1000 CDT/0600 Hawaii Time/0200 AEST
Location: The Ruins of THE CRYSTAL PALACE, aka Selhurst Park

PS, how do I get tickets for Palace? Tempted to go now.
Click to expand...

Great post, we are all old.men now and we started posting as teenagers or young men

Life moves pretty fast, makes me feel nostalgic. Let's play the kids with a mix of first teamers who may be leaving at the end of the season

Jamooky · May 19, 2026

Began posting while working at a law firm in the months after graduating college. Shared the account with another young temp who I haven't seen in 15 years. Amazing how much time/life has passed since then. Let's enjoy this one, guys.

NorthBank · May 19, 2026

mebeSajid said: ↑

I remember the days when watching the Premier League was rather difficult in the states. Days when the only way to really follow the Arsenal was to bootleg streams using freeware like Sopcast, which had a 50/50 shot at best of working. Unless the games were on Fox Soccer channel, which wasn't all that common. Or the games were on Setanta Sports, which was terrible and whose only contribution was a far-too-shortlived spoof of Jose. I couldn't find a captioned image of that Jose saying "Be Champions!" for the other thread, so I settled or Frodo saying "It's Done." from The Return of the King. I had to go back and check to be sure, but The Return of The King was released during the last season that Arsenal had won the league. It's been a minute.

The first time I really watched an Arsenal game was as a senior in college. The Big Cup quarterfinal second leg in 2004, a game of which we do not speak around these parts, was on ESPN playing on the big tv at the student center. The first full season I really, truly followed Arsenal was the 07/08 season: the season after Arsenal sold Thierry Henry. Somewhat naively, I thought we'd win the league easily that year and rename Bill Simmons's "Ewing Theory" to "Henry Theory." That was the first time Arsenal broke my heart, but it would be far from the only time that happened.

There was the CL semifinal in 08/09, where Kieran Gibbs slipped, purseboy hit an unbelievable free kick, and that was that. There was the 09/10 season, when Van Persie broke his ankle in a stupid friendly and we couldn't score for a month. The season after that, when there was a stupid ricochet in the league cup final and we led in the Nou Camp against peak-Barcelona in the second leg, only for the referee to decide who got to win. As an aside, I was a first year law student that season, and may have screamed absurdly loudly in the law library when Arshavin scored THAT GOAL in the first leg. Any curious reactions by other law students were probably unrelated and due to something else.

And then everyone good left. Fabregas. Nasri. Clichy. Sagna. Van Persie. We didn't come close to a trophy that actually mattered for years after that: the closest (IMO) was the 13/14 season where the title challenge really collapsed when Walcott tore his ACL in January against Tottenhan, though we'll always remember Theo signing the scoreboard to the crowd as he was stretchered off. The seasons after that? They become a blur. Except for Wenger: I probably wouldn't be posting this thread if it weren't for him, and he deserves a tribute today in a way that's more fulsome than a callout in a match thread. The way the club handled his departure always makes me sad. He probably stayed too long, but he deserved better than the way the club treated him.

Even worse than the way his departure was handled was his successor. Unai was awful, and Unai delenda est. Thankfully, we need not rely on Unai on Sunday and can be Freiburg fans for a day tomorrow. But part of me thinks that the plan was always: you never want to me the successor to the iconic manager. You want to be the successor to the successor, and I want to believe the plan was always to replace Emery with Arteta.

Arteta came into an impossible situation: COVID shut everything down three months into his first managerial job, with an aging squad in key places and no tactical identity. But he showed real grit and toughness, and molded it into a squad with some truly likeable players. We've been the best team in the league the last four years, but something always held us back: there was the Saliba injury in 2023, and the bad run of form at the beginning of the 2023/2024 season (the second half of that season, on the other hand, was absolutely majestic). And there was the referees' conspiracy last season.

But there were little bits of joy too. There were the FA Cups, especially "Two-nil down Three-Two Up" and the two final wins against the Chavs. And so many games that gave you hope: the two 5-2 games, the 3-0 wins against United and Chelsea in back to back seasons. There was THAT JACK WILSHERE GOAL, where I'm sure that 20% of the youtube views are me. The bits of joy are why I kept coming back: ask any Jets fan how necessary they are.

There isn't much I can say about this season, as we've all lived through it: it's been exhausting and exhilarating at the same time. Arsenal are the Premier League Champions. I've never typed that before.

And throughout so much of the history I've outlined above, there's been this forum. This was the second forum I ever posted to, but you guys have been a part of my life in ways that are kind of difficult to describe: I've posted here from three different continents, at least ten different countries, more than a few airplanes, more hospital waiting rooms than I care to admit, and with three different kids in my arms.

I love you guys. Even @Rewinder.

Moving Pictures: Yes
Time: 1600 GMT/1100 EDT/1000 CDT/0600 Hawaii Time/0200 AEST
Location: The Ruins of THE CRYSTAL PALACE, aka Selhurst Park

PS, how do I get tickets for Palace? Tempted to go now.
Click to expand...

Brilliant post! You been workin on that a little while I think.

And the second biggest smile of the day for me, came from this line:

“I love you guys. Even @Rewinder.“

Lead us on Mebe… to two trophies.

NorthBank · May 19, 2026

thebigman said: ↑

Great post, we are all old.men now and we started posting as teenagers or young men
Click to expand...

A few women here too I’ve always suspected.

ps. I was already “old” when I started here! But age is only conceptual. Watching the Arsenal makes me feel young.

mebeSajid · May 19, 2026

NorthBank said: ↑

Brilliant post! You been workin on that a little while I think.

And the second biggest smile of the day for me, came from this line:

“I love you guys. Even @Rewinder.“

Lead us on Mebe… to two trophies.
Click to expand...

Not really? I thought City would win and the thinking was to have a blank thread with no information and "Just win." The only idea I had for the thread if we won was the title, which was easy, and some reflections about my time as an Arsenal fan. And making sure to mention Wenger. Who deserves far more credit than he gets.

chjoak · May 19, 2026

Need to rotate heavy for the CP game. Saka, MO & Rice should get MAX 45min . Give MLS, Norgaard, Dowman, Marti 60+. Hell give Salmon and maybe 1-2 other kids 20+. Now that the game doesn't matter CP is gonna rotate too. Need to keep all the key players healthy and ready for the final.

mebeSajid · May 19, 2026

chjoak said: ↑

Need to rotate heavy for the CP game. Saka, MO & Rice should get MAX 45min . Give MLS, Norgaard, Dowman, Marti 60+. Hell give Salmon and maybe 1-2 other kids 20+. Now that the game doesn't matter CP is gonna rotate too. Need to keep all the key players healthy and ready for the final.
Click to expand...

Nah. Let's win this, keep up the momentum.

NorthBank · May 19, 2026

As I just said in some other, less-appropriate thread: let’s just have an off-season friendly, play the scrubs, in what is a relatively low priority match for both clubs.

And we could still WIN

AmericanGunner · May 19, 2026

Both sides are likely to have an unsaid understanding of a kick around for 90 minutes. No hard tackles, marginal attempts to score unless you're a youth player going for glory.
Rice better show up for the game in street clothes.

The big question for this game who lines up for both sides. How weak will either go.

For me, is will Arsenal go hard for an equalizer if Palace scores. And visa versa.

Palace are my distant second team for a couple reasons. The first place I stayed when I visited England many years ago was near Selhurst Park and there we used to have Benny Hill re-runs when I was a kid and there was a vague reference to them, which I didn't fully understand
"He has the look of bewilderment, like Malcolm Allison at Crystal Palace" Come to find out much later he was their manager mid 70s. No idea who or what Crystal Palace was for years.

They would have been the club I supported. Started watching football while overseas strangely enough on a weekend getaway to Thailand while working in Japan. Went to a British pub, no interest in 'soccer', British coworkers were watching Chelsea, fully engaged west end London boys. Another screen had this club losing 1-0, down to 10 men with the coolest name I ever heard for a team: Arsenal.

Started watching them. remember Tony Adams specifically, started watching them regularly No idea we were a big club. Only clubs I ever heard about prior were Man Utd and Liverpool I didnt want to support a big club, thought Arsenal were a small club. I was actually a bit sad to know we were big and even bigger surprise we were damn good. .Didn't want to seem a glory hunter.

Came to despise Man Utd, hate Tottenham and worry about Chelsea. Respected Liverpool though, specifically from hearing their fans were called 'Scousers' and they were not liked around England. I recall the Brit coworkers in the Tokyo office would put any blame any Brit did anywhere as 'probably Scousers'.

Might have been a Liverpool fan otherwise for that reason. Always felt guilty not being a Palace fan as my primary club. Always had a soft spot for them.

I also had a mild soft spot for Newcastle, because of Geordies. Hate Everton for reasons I won't get into but its the same reason I hate the Red Sox and Yankees.

GunnerJacket · May 19, 2026

As much as I want to see the lads win emphatically on their day, especially knowing Palace is likely to rest many key players, the priority has to be making sure key players needed for the CL final are not run ragged or injured. Sure, it may seem odd to have, say, Norgaard and Jesus receiving the guard of honor, but from this point the path forward involving the fewest regrets means having your A side primed for the PSG contest. Win or lose that game, you want to put your best foot forward for the trophy.

But that's just me.

NorthBank · May 19, 2026

GunnerJacket said: ↑

As much as I want to see the lads win emphatically on their day, especially knowing Palace is likely to rest many key players, the priority has to be making sure key players needed for the CL final are not run ragged or injured. Sure, it may seem odd to have, say, Norgaard and Jesus receiving the guard of honor, but from this point the path forward involving the fewest regrets means having your A side primed for the PSG contest. Win or lose that game, you want to put your best foot forward for the trophy.

But that's just me.
Click to expand...

Whatever jinx you were worried about seems pretty well debunked. So feel free to stick around.

GunnerJacket · May 19, 2026

NorthBank said: ↑

Whatever jinx you were worried about seems pretty well debunked. So feel free to stick around.
Click to expand...

Fate is having her fun: Orlando is already ahead of Atlanta 3-0 in the first 25'. Hoping the Stripes can absorb all the bad mojo and leave Arsenal nothing but happy thoughts.

CarlosKaiser · May 19, 2026

chjoak said: ↑

Need to rotate heavy for the CP game. Saka, MO & Rice should get MAX 45min . Give MLS, Norgaard, Dowman, Marti 60+. Hell give Salmon and maybe 1-2 other kids 20+. Now that the game doesn't matter CP is gonna rotate too. Need to keep all the key players healthy and ready for the final.
Click to expand...

Max and Salmon might have to play since they are underage and won't be completely hung over on Sunday.

Jamooky · May 19, 2026

CarlosKaiser said: ↑

Max and Salmon might have to play since they are underage and won't be completely hung over on Sunday.
Click to expand...

Every double-barrelled teenager we have in the system should be on notice . . . debuts incoming!

DutchCane · May 19, 2026

Love yall man, this forum has been a part of my life for 20 yrs, longer than most things. I'm an old Lion in Winter. Life humbles you, teaches you so many things. Sports are just life in 90 minute microcosms.

The one thing that I love about this win, is that everyone persevered, they kept the faith. I'm just so happy for these guys man. I know nothing about the pressure they face, yet we all can relate to failure, success, doubt, faith, all of it.

I'm happy for the old timers, I'm happy for the young fans the ones who never knew us as winners. Wishing you all the best man and hope all of this stuff is read by you all in good health.

I've been with this club through so many life altering situations lol and yet we still here.

ARSENAL CHAMPIONS, how sweet it is!!

sheno-san · May 19, 2026

mebeSajid said: ↑

I remember the days when watching the Premier League was rather difficult in the states. Days when the only way to really follow the Arsenal was to bootleg streams using freeware like Sopcast, which had a 50/50 shot at best of working. Unless the games were on Fox Soccer channel, which wasn't all that common. Or the games were on Setanta Sports, which was terrible and whose only contribution was a far-too-shortlived spoof of Jose. I couldn't find a captioned image of that Jose saying "Be Champions!" for the other thread, so I settled or Frodo saying "It's Done." from The Return of the King. I had to go back and check to be sure, but The Return of The King was released during the last season that Arsenal had won the league. It's been a minute.

The first time I really watched an Arsenal game was as a senior in college. The Big Cup quarterfinal second leg in 2004, a game of which we do not speak around these parts, was on ESPN playing on the big tv at the student center. The first full season I really, truly followed Arsenal was the 07/08 season: the season after Arsenal sold Thierry Henry. Somewhat naively, I thought we'd win the league easily that year and rename Bill Simmons's "Ewing Theory" to "Henry Theory." That was the first time Arsenal broke my heart, but it would be far from the only time that happened.

There was the CL semifinal in 08/09, where Kieran Gibbs slipped, purseboy hit an unbelievable free kick, and that was that. There was the 09/10 season, when Van Persie broke his ankle in a stupid friendly and we couldn't score for a month. The season after that, when there was a stupid ricochet in the league cup final and we led in the Nou Camp against peak-Barcelona in the second leg, only for the referee to decide who got to win. As an aside, I was a first year law student that season, and may have screamed absurdly loudly in the law library when Arshavin scored THAT GOAL in the first leg. Any curious reactions by other law students were probably unrelated and due to something else.

And then everyone good left. Fabregas. Nasri. Clichy. Sagna. Van Persie. We didn't come close to a trophy that actually mattered for years after that: the closest (IMO) was the 13/14 season where the title challenge really collapsed when Walcott tore his ACL in January against Tottenhan, though we'll always remember Theo signing the scoreboard to the crowd as he was stretchered off. The seasons after that? They become a blur. Except for Wenger: I probably wouldn't be posting this thread if it weren't for him, and he deserves a tribute today in a way that's more fulsome than a callout in a match thread. The way the club handled his departure always makes me sad. He probably stayed too long, but he deserved better than the way the club treated him.

Even worse than the way his departure was handled was his successor. Unai was awful, and Unai delenda est. Thankfully, we need not rely on Unai on Sunday and can be Freiburg fans for a day tomorrow. But part of me thinks that the plan was always: you never want to me the successor to the iconic manager. You want to be the successor to the successor, and I want to believe the plan was always to replace Emery with Arteta.

Arteta came into an impossible situation: COVID shut everything down three months into his first managerial job, with an aging squad in key places and no tactical identity. But he showed real grit and toughness, and molded it into a squad with some truly likeable players. We've been the best team in the league the last four years, but something always held us back: there was the Saliba injury in 2023, and the bad run of form at the beginning of the 2023/2024 season (the second half of that season, on the other hand, was absolutely majestic). And there was the referees' conspiracy last season.

But there were little bits of joy too. There were the FA Cups, especially "Two-nil down Three-Two Up" and the two final wins against the Chavs. And so many games that gave you hope: the two 5-2 games, the 3-0 wins against United and Chelsea in back to back seasons. There was THAT JACK WILSHERE GOAL, where I'm sure that 20% of the youtube views are me. The bits of joy are why I kept coming back: ask any Jets fan how necessary they are.

There isn't much I can say about this season, as we've all lived through it: it's been exhausting and exhilarating at the same time. Arsenal are the Premier League Champions. I've never typed that before.

And throughout so much of the history I've outlined above, there's been this forum. This was the second forum I ever posted to, but you guys have been a part of my life in ways that are kind of difficult to describe: I've posted here from three different continents, at least ten different countries, more than a few airplanes, more hospital waiting rooms than I care to admit, and with three different kids in my arms.

I love you guys. Even @Rewinder.

Moving Pictures: Yes
Time: 1600 GMT/1100 EDT/1000 CDT/0600 Hawaii Time/0200 AEST
Location: The Ruins of THE CRYSTAL PALACE, aka Selhurst Park

PS, how do I get tickets for Palace? Tempted to go now.
Click to expand...

started towards the end of 2003-04 season as well, catching the last few matches on Fox Sports World, before it changed to Fox Soccer Channel. I was 15 yrs old. I'll be 38 very soon. 22 years of waking up at 4am for games!

I defended Wenger forever on here.

THIS IS FOR HIM!!! WE WOULD BE NOWHERE WITHOUT HIM! THANK YOU WENGER, THANK YOU ARTETA!

And_ROOS · May 20, 2026

It's a fine balance of giving players minutes to keep up momentum for the UCL final against a very VERY well rested PSG but also making sure that players are protected from themselves as we absolutely don't want any injuries to happen.

Feel like we will start with a full strength line up, likely what we see against PSG, and then at the 60th we will sub out Saka\Rice\Odegaard\whoever is striker.

The Palace match is crucial to our season despite the fact WE WON THE ********ING LEAGUE.

We get things right against Palace we go into the game with PSG high on confidence and this season goes from "utterly incredible" to one of those "where were you when the Gunners did the double" kinda stories.

Let's get goals. Let's give Raya another clean sheet.

Arsenal to win 0-3 with goals to Saka, Saliba and Tross the boss.

NorthBank · May 20, 2026

And_ROOS said: ↑

It's a fine balance of giving players minutes to keep up momentum for the UCL final against a very VERY well rested PSG but also making sure that players are protected from themselves as we absolutely don't want any injuries to happen.

Feel like we will start with a full strength line up, likely what we see against PSG, and then at the 60th we will sub out Saka\Rice\Odegaard\whoever is striker.

The Palace match is crucial to our season despite the fact WE WON THE ********ING LEAGUE.

We get things right against Palace we go into the game with PSG high on confidence and this season goes from "utterly incredible" to one of those "where were you when the Gunners did the double" kinda stories.

Let's get goals. Let's give Raya another clean sheet.

Arsenal to win 0-3 with goals to Saka, Saliba and Tross the boss.
Click to expand...

Sorry mate, I don’t usually disagree with you, but on this one I gotta say no.

I’m not nearly as worried about rhythm as I am about fitness. Including players who badly need rest and recovery time. Also that's precisely what PSG have the luxury to do. So…

Raya should nurse his sore back

Saka likewise for his achilles

And Ode for his knee

Rice badly needs to fill up his tank.

Gabriel & Saliba seem to be carrying niggles that just aren’t being discussed much.

Why risk injury or setback to any of those players before the biggest club cup final there is?

Also if any of the players who’ve been vital in our recent past, who’ve been on long-term rehabbing, and who we’d like to have on our bench in Budapest, are ready for Sunday, then maybe give them some minutes Sunday. I.e. Timber & Merino.

That said, I think they are super long shots to be in the squad for the final, because even if they were to play some minutes at Palace, there’s just not enough time for them to get really match fit. I think the only speculative role those two could play would be as a late emergency sub. And that seems like a real conceptual stretch to me right now.

Silva 5 · May 20, 2026

Who remembers the stand alone Setanta Sports online package?

6 ft. Leprechaun · May 20, 2026

And_ROOS said: ↑

It's a fine balance of giving players minutes to keep up momentum for the UCL final against a very VERY well rested PSG but also making sure that players are protected from themselves as we absolutely don't want any injuries to happen.

Feel like we will start with a full strength line up, likely what we see against PSG, and then at the 60th we will sub out Saka\Rice\Odegaard\whoever is striker.

The Palace match is crucial to our season despite the fact WE WON THE ********ING LEAGUE.

We get things right against Palace we go into the game with PSG high on confidence and this season goes from "utterly incredible" to one of those "where were you when the Gunners did the double" kinda stories.

Let's get goals. Let's give Raya another clean sheet.

Arsenal to win 0-3 with goals to Saka, Saliba and Tross the boss.
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I don't think any of our starters should see the field. They have so many minutes on their legs this season, they need this rest prior to the CL final. I'll take rest over momentum, and possible chance of injury, at this point.

And_ROOS · May 20, 2026

I want to stress what I wrote isn't what I want I'd rather we rested everyone and played the under 21s + guys who haven't had match play for a while i.e Norgaard, Kepa, Dowman, Salmon etc but there's absolutely no way Arteta doesn't send out a strong team because:
1. Likely guard of honour that the players have earned and he will want them to get their flowers.
2. Arteta seldom rests and rotates at the best of times.

mebeSajid · May 20, 2026

Silva 5 said: ↑

Who remembers the stand alone Setanta Sports online package?
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I may have called it out in the opening post (along with Special 1 TV/I’m On Setanta Sports).

yossarian · May 20, 2026

Silva 5 said: ↑

Who remembers the stand alone Setanta Sports online package?
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...or going to pubs with Setanta goons working the door for the $5 cover to get in to watch.

DutchCane · May 20, 2026

yossarian said: ↑

...or going to pubs with Setanta goons working the door for the $5 cover to get in to watch.
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those were dark times in NYC and LA