On the one hand, when Crystal Palace host Arsenal for the final match of the season, it’s somewhat a dead rubber. Palace are safe from relegation and can only jump as high as 14th with a win on the final day. There is little doubt that their main focus will be on the UEFA Conference League final four days later, their first chance to win a piece of continental silverware.
Mikel Arteta’s visiting side have already been crowned league champions, and similarly will have one eye on the Champions League final in Budapest, where they will meet French champions Paris St-Germain.
There is still a little spark in the meeting though. On Eberechi Eze’s return to Selhurst Park, it has been confirmed that Arsenal will be presented with the Premier League trophy following the match, and it will be a farewell to manager Oliver Glasner for the home fans.
Arsenal Almost Unrecognizable from Arteta’s Arrival
As Arsenal lift the league trophy for the first time in 22 years, there will be the sense that the 2025-26 season has been the culmination of several years of work by the Arsenal hierarchy and the manager they put their faith in.
Former Premier League goalkeeper Paul Robinson described it well, saying: “The best gift you can give a good manager is time.
“Yes you can give them hundreds of millions of pounds but you have to mould that money into a team, into a dressing room, a winning side. You give a good manager time? There’s the proof.”
As Premier League rivals are chopping and changing their managers as they fail to deliver results immediately, Arsenal’s higher-ups adopted one of Arteta’s own mantras and trusted the process.
Comparing Arsenal at their lowest low – arguably Christmas Day 2020, sitting 15th after one win from 10 matches – to a club dreaming of adding a Champions League trophy to their league glory, they are almost unrecognisable. Arteta was given time and he has used it to brutal effect.
Limited by my editor’s word count, I do not have the space to dissect Arteta’s revolution, from his squad rebuild and work with the board to his re-engagement of Arsenal’s fanbase and the atmosphere around the club.
Even taking this season in isolation though, Arteta’s vision and passion have carried this club to greater heights than most fans would have dared hope.
Goodbye to Glasner; Welcome Back Ebere Eze
Many Palace fans will likely feel a similar way about Glasner, who has confirmed that he will be leaving the club at the end of the season. The Austrian led the club to their first major domestic trophy with last season’s FA Cup, and now has steered them to their first European final.
He took over from Roy Hodgson in February 2024, and in a relatively short space of time has shaped Palace into impressive European contenders. The Arsenal clash will be his final home send-off, with players and fans keen to let him leave Selhurst Park on a high.
“There’s determination and motivation to win the [Arsenal] game for a number of reasons,” said Palace midfielder Will Hughes. “And one of those is to give the manager a good send-off for what he’s done for us as individuals and as a group. He’s helped us win silverware for the first time in the club’s history and many of the players’ first times in their careers.”
It will also be a return for Eberechi Eze, who left South London in the summer window to join Arsenal, becoming a key figure in Arteta’s squad. The England international has played almost 3250 minutes across all competitions this season, with 10 goals and six assists alongside 32 Premier League appearances.
He will likely be well-received when he returns to his former stomping grounds, with Hughes also praising his former team-mate on his success.
“He deserves it [the Premier League title]. He’s a top player, but more importantly, he’s a great guy, very humble,” he said. “So, yes, we’re obviously delighted for him.”
While it might not be the most high octane match of the final weekend (see, Tottenham against Everton and West Ham against Leeds United) it will certainly be an occasion to bring the curtain down on what has been a successful season for both teams, and prepare them both to fight it out for European glory.
