Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner has issued a firm directive to his squad, warning them to show “no friendship” towards former teammate Eberechi Eze ahead of their emotional reunion against Arsenal this Sunday.
The England international left the Eagles for North London in a club-record move last summer, shortly after scoring the winning goal that secured Palace their first major trophy, the FA Cup, against Manchester City.
The clash marks the first time Eze will face the club he graced for five years, but Glasner insisted that all sentimentalities must wait until the final whistle.
The Austrian manager was full of praise for his former star, stating: “We lost a fantastic player and even more fantastic person. Looking forward to seeing him, but no friendship during the game.”
Glasner used the opportunity to both laud Eze’s singular ability and defend his current squad’s collective attacking output. He conceded that “In Eberechi, we lost a player who could decide games on his own with one situation.”
However, he quickly highlighted key data points in the team’s favour, citing the club’s league-leading expected goals (xG) total since Eze’s departure.
“I always look at the stats and we have the highest xG in the Premier League,” Glasner noted, attributing the impressive metric to the whole team’s effort.
Despite this creative success, the data shows Palace significantly underperform their xG—by 7.10 goals, according to Understat—the highest deficit in the Premier League, illustrating a pressing need for a more clinical finish, a factor Glasner believes the team will improve upon.