Former Palace striker Clinton Morrison speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live: "Going back to Roy Hodgson is a backwards step because Palace wanted the team to evolve and they did evolve under Patrick Vieira, you know what it would be like under Hodgson.

"Do I think Hodgson could go in there and keep Palace up? I do - he obviously knows the players and, while it wasn't the best football under Hodgson, it was effective, it got results.

"It would be a big call but I could understand it being for until the end of the season because maybe other options aren't available."

Alex Howell
Football reporter at Stamford Bridge

The sacking of manager Patrick Vieira by Crystal Palace won’t come as a surprise to those who have seen the Eagles struggle in 2023.

It was felt that Vieira was fighting for his job after the Brighton defeat on Wednesday, but he may have been given the Arsenal game as one last chance to show he could turn around a season that’s turning into a relegation battle. Ultimately, that hasn’t happened.

Palace haven’t won since a New Year's Eve victory over Bournemouth. They conceded with the last kick of the game against Brentford to cost them a win this year and have had fixtures against the majority of the top six to deal with.

Goalscoring has been a huge issue. Vieira’s side have not found the net for the last four matches and haven’t scored twice in a game since December.

Vieira is well liked around the club but the threat of relegation has proved too much for chairman Steve Parish and the club have made a change.

It’s not yet clear who the club will bring in to replace Vieira but they will need to get the team scoring and quickly.

The Eagles don’t concede a lot of goals but without goals, they won’t pick up points and the threat of relegation gets bigger with every week that passes.

Image source, Getty Images

We've got squad number 97 on the bench for Arsenal this afternoon. Reuell Walters is the player in question. He is an 18-year-old right-back, who is getting his chance amongst the subs because of the injury suffered by Takehiro Tomiyasu on Thursday.

He was actually part of the squad that travelled to Portugal for the first leg against Sporting Lisbon, which finished 2-2.

He has played regularly for the Gunners' under-21 side this season, splitting his appearances between the right side and centre of defence.

Former Chelsea and Fulham goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer has defended Aaron Ramsdale after the Arsenal stopper was beaten by a sensational 46-yard strike in their defeat by Sporting in the Europa League.

Pedro Goncalves flighted a stunning lob over the England goalkeeper to level the tie and ultimately force a penalty shootout, won by the Portuguese side.

Schwarzer told BBC Radio 5 Live's Football Daily podcast the quality of the goal was undeniable.

"Sometimes you have to hold your hands up and say 'that was world class,'" he said.

"Ramsdale does play a higher line but that's very much in check with the modern goalkeeper. He wants to command the area between his 18-yard box and the defence.

"I don't think he was overly far of his line - it was just all about the execution. And he was so close to making the vital save as well."

The game also offered a first Arsenal appearance since November for Gabriel Jesus, who got a useful 45 minutes of action before being withdrawn at half-time.

Understandably, the Brazil forward looked a bit rusty as he continued his rehabilitation from injury.

"He clearly looks like a player that has been out as he is still trying to find his rhythm," conceded Schwarzer. "But he had moments where he looked sharp and came into the game."

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Yep, we've had a late change to that Palace team. As I thought might be the case, Joachim Anderson has picked up an injury and so James Tomkins come in to replace him at centre-back.

Here is what Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta had to say about whether defeat will actually help their Premier League title push: "I cannot see that today that way. If you go through the competition and you win, it's magnificent.

"If not and it affects your plans in the league that's a different story, but we wanted to go through.

"We put everything in and with the effort that the boys put in when it wasn't our best day individually and collectively, the hunger and desire that they showed to win it was incredible.

"We need to put our heads up, look for Crystal Palace. There are 11 games and the first one starts on Sunday."

Former defender Martin Keown feels Arsenal's Europa League exit could be "a blessing" as the Gunners pursue a first league title since 2004.

A penalty shootout defeat to Sporting Lisbon ended their hopes of European success, though they remain five points clear at the top of the Premier League.

"There's disappointment for Arsenal but you wonder, is this a blessing? Does it affect the momentum? I think not. There were a couple of injuries [though] so it could be an expensive defeat," Keown told BT Sport.

"But it almost seemed a game too many. Arsenal weren't even in Europe last season. Maybe it is a blessing they have gone out.

"The Premier League is looming so large [and now] they can go at it wholeheartedly. Arsenal are trying to hang on to Manchester City but we shouldn't be that surprised they have fallen foul with all the changes [against Sporting].

"They so desperately want to win the Premier League and it was too much to change their focus to another tournament."

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The last time here at the Emirates, Arsenal suffered a European exit at the hands of Sporting Lisbon in a dramatic night full of thrills, spills and a goal from not far off halfway.

It is a defeat the Gunners definitely did not want to suffer, but in classic fashion they'll be wanting to turn it into a positive.

Joachim Anderson doesn't look entirely happy as he takes part in the pre-game warm-up. He has been in long discussions with some staff on the pitch. He's now walking off ahead of everyone else.

Might be that palace need to make a change to their starting line-up here. James Tomkins is the obvious replacement.

Would be a blow to Palace to lose Anderson.

The Crystal Palace board "bear a lot of responsibility" for Patrick Vieira's failings at the club.

That is the view of Crystal Palace fan and host of the Five Year Plan podcast Robert Sutherland, who was speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live Breakfast following the announcement of Vieira's sacking.

"I think on the balance of things it probably was the right time for him to go," he said.

"We just haven't kicked on really since the World Cup and it's been a season-long problem struggling to make chances.

"I think the manager had spent some time talking about working on that side of the game, even earlier in the season, and it just hasn't materialised."

Sutherland is disappointed with the decision as he "really wanted it to be a success" for the Frenchman.

"I think if we're looking at the bigger picture, the issue isn't just the manager," he added.

"Palace's owners are in a quandary at the moment as to how to spend the money and whether to invest in the Palace squad and that happened in January when we really needed signings and Vieira was let down.

"The fact that we're so reliant on [Wilfried] Zaha is indicative of a greater problem and the owners have made the decision to sack Vieira, but they bear a lot of responsibility for his failings."

When asked who he would like to see come in, Sutherland felt that whoever replaces Vieira "will be a firefighter".

"The only other person I can think of is [former Leeds United manager] Jesse Marsch and I’m not sure he would even be the ideal candidate," he said.

"It's really hard and whoever it is needs to get our attacking players performing because at the moment they're just not."

Patrick Vieira lost a lower percentage of matches than many of his predecessors but a drop of in front of goal may have cost him his job.

The stats show Palace’s 21 goals in 27 games this season is the joint-second lowest in the Premier League, with only Wolves, Everton and Southampton scoring fewer.

At this stage last season, the Eagles had scored 37 times.

Vieira took charge of 65 Premier League games as Palace manager, the fourth-most in their history after Steve Coppell (70), Alan Pardew (73) and Roy Hodgson (148).

He managed 17 wins, 24 draws and 24 defeats in those matches, with 71 goals scored and 80 conceded.

The former Arsenal midfielder made Palace difficult to beat - while his top-flight win percentage (26%) ranks below Hodgson, Pardew, Sam Allardyce and Tony Pulis, he lost a lower proportion of matches (37%) than any of his predecessors.

Alex Pewter, Five Year Plan fanzine, external

Less than a year ago, his name was sung on Wembley Way en route to the FA Cup semi-final as part of the team's lauded renaissance.

Patrick Vieira's rise with Crystal Palace was quick, but the subsequent fall was a frustrating decline to watch from the stands.

There will be time for an in-depth post-mortem concerning the underlying statistics, tactics and match-to-match performances, but the lack of goals and chance creation was the main issue plaguing this team.

Fundamentally, as a human being, Vieira was a coach you wanted to root for and a great ambassador for the club in the way he carried himself, even through this difficult period.

Some fans will regret his departure on that basis alone.

There were factors within and outside of his control. Ultimately, results were his primary responsibility, as was the choice of staff around him, and they also left the club this morning.

However, as discussed on Tuesday, the lack of investment in the past two transfer windows has hampered his initial progress.

That issue lends itself to a sense that Vieira's exit is just the tip of an iceberg of uncertainly behind the scenes at the club, despite a decade in the Premier League.

Two of Palace's American owners, Josh Harris and David Blitzer, were part of a bid , externalto purchase Chelsea this season, as highlighted by BBC Sport's Alex Howell.

Meanwhile, despite John Textor's initial investment into the club funding the first ‘Vieira’ transfer window, it has been suggested his overall vision differs from that of the board.

Relegation is the great existential threat in football so, at the least, the cohesive view of the club's ownership was that Vieira wasn't the man to stave it off.

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Martin Keown
Former England defender on Football Focus

It feels callous because it’s Arsenal this weekend, his former club, and there have been some politics behind the scenes, he sacked a member of staff [Shaun Derry] that was employed by Steve Parish and now that person is returning to the club, I believe, so that would have been difficult for Patrick to have managed in that environment. Let’s see if they can do it but I think they should have stuck with him really.

You could say it’s been designed for the new manager to come in and have a really good chance to stay up because it’s really in their hands. I think Roy Hodgson is the person who has been mentioned. Roy has had that many farewells now at Palace, it doesn’t seem it’s right to put Roy into that situation but they will see him as a safe pair of hands.

[Ralph] Hasenhüttl is another one who is someone who could probably go and do it, I think Southampton should have kept him so let’s see what they do next.

So, apparently Roy Hodgson is an option to return to Palace following the sacking of Patrick Vieira.

Hodgson, 75, briefly returned to the dugout for a short period last season at Watford, leaving after the Hornets were relegated.

Hodgson said last season he did not expect to take another Premier League managerial role after Watford.

The former Liverpool and Fulham manager knows many of the current Palace squad well having worked with them before and that would be seen as a positive as the Eagles try to avoid being dragged deeper into a relegation fight.

Good idea? Bad idea? Absolutely mad idea?

Give us a shout and let us know your thoughts.

Nedum Onuoha
Former Manchester City defender on Football Focus

In terms of sacking Vieira now, who is going to come in and have that sort of impact straight away? You’d be happier with those fixtures coming up as opposed to the ten they’ve just had.

If they go back to Roy Hodgson then that is essentially what they were beforehand and it doesn’t feel that long-term overall but whoever comes in at this stage of the season anyway has a very clear short-term objective which is to get the team winning and secure your future for next year and then you’ll be in a position to build.

Martin Keown
Former England defender on Football Focus

I’m disappointed [that Patrick Vieira has been sacked], I think they’ve panicked. I think it might have a grave effect on the rest of their season, a lot of young players there and he was very influential with them and also the fixtures, the run of games they have had was quite remarkable.

He has only really lost by the odd goal, all of the teams were really high up in the table, average position of sixth, they’ve lost by the odd goal and there have been some credible draws in there.

I know people are saying they are in 12th position but they have only dropped one position since Christmas, albeit they haven’t won a game and have scored four goals but the games that were coming up, playing eight teams that are below you in the table, you would like to think it is in their own hands to rescue the situation and that has been snatched away from Patrick.

Crystal Palace co-owner Steve Parish hopes the club get "fresh impetus" after the departure of boss Patrick Vieira.

The Eagles have not won in 2023 and are only three points above the relegation zone despite sitting in 12th place in the Premier League.

Parish admitted the decision to dismiss Vieira was tough, but one the club's hierarchy felt was necessary as they fight to preserve their top-flight status.

"Everybody loved Patrick, genuinely," he said. "The players had all the time in the world for him - he never lost the players at all.

"I think things just weren't happening. Obviously we're hoping that there's a bit of fresh impetus, a few different ideas and maybe we surprise the opposition a little bit."

Palace travel to league-leaders Arsenal on Sunday and Parish is convinced the players will respond to having former club captain Paddy McCarthy in temporary charge.

"Everybody is positive and wants to do their best," he said. "We've got good players, a good squad and good lads.

"They followed Patrick and they will follow Paddy and will do their best for the football club."

In terms of a long-term replacement for Vieira, a host of names have been mentioned in the hours after Vieira's exit, including Ralph Hasenhuttl, Rafa Benitez, Carlos Corberan, Marcelo Bielsa and and Nuno Espirito Santo.

Image source, .

Six changes from the Arsenal side that began Thursday's Europa League game with Sporting Lisbon, which the Portuguese side won on penalties.

Returning to the starting line-up for the Gunners are Ben White, Thomas Partey, Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard, Rob Holding and Leandro Trossard.

Arsenal: Ramsdale, Zinchenko, Gabriel, Holding, White, Partey, Xhaka, Odegaard, Trossard, Saka, Martinelli.

Subs: Turner, Tierney, Jorginho, Walters, Vieira, Smith Rowe, Nelson, Kiwor, Jesus.

Image source, .

Crystal Palace, in their first game without Patrick Vieira, make two changes from the side that began the 1-0 loss to Brighton on Wednesday as Joel Ward and Luka Milivojevic replace Nathaniel Clyne and Albert Sambi Lokonga, who is on loan from Arsenal and unable to play against his parent club.

Nineteen-year-old goalkeeper Joe Whitworth made his debut against the Seagulls and is again in goal.

Crystal Palace XI: Whitworth, Mitchell, Guehi, Andersen, Ward, Milivojevic, Schlupp, Doucoure, Olise, Edouard, Zaha.

Subs: Goodman, Tomkins, Clyne, Hughes, Richards, Ahamada, Ayew, Eze, Mateta,

Yes, it's Arsenal v Crystal Palace. Top of the league against a side staring nervously over their shoulder.

The team news is in, so let's not muck about, yeah...