Crystal Palace defender Maxence Lacroix has named a surprise Arsenal player as his toughest opponent’.
French centre-back Lacroix has been a mainstay in the Palace team this season, making 26 appearances for the Eagles.
Palace boss Oliver Glasner worked with Lacroix at Wolfsburg and brought the 24-year-old to Selhurst Park last summer in a deal worth £18m.
Lacroix has come up against some of the best strikers in Europe this season in Erling Haaland, Alexander Isak and Ollie Watkins.
But Lacroix says the ‘most difficult player’ he has faced is in fact Arsenal forward Gabriel Jesus.
Jesus, 27, scored a hat-trick against Crystal Palace in December before netting twice against the same opposition three days later.
‘The most difficult player I’ve played against is Gabriel Jesus, he scored a lot against us,’ he told talkSPORT. ‘It was difficult because he has good movement.
‘I like to play against Haaland because he’s strong, we know it’s going to be a fight. I don’t like when players run a lot.’
Jesus scored just one goal in his first 20 appearances this season before netting five in two games in a week against Crystal Palace.
Any hopes of a revival from the Brazilian were ended when he suffered a season-ending ACL injury in last month’s FA Cup clash against Manchester United.
Arsenal decided not to sign a new striker in January despite losing Jesus to injury.
That decision almost immediately backfired as Mikel Arteta was soon hit by another devastating injury setback – this time Kai Havertz ruled out of the rest of the season with a hamstring problem.
The injuries leave Arteta with just three recognised forwards as he looks to reel in Premier League leaders Liverpool, who boast an eight-point lead at the top of the table.
Arsenal do, however, have a game in hand over Arne Slot’s side, who drew 2-2 with Liverpool in midweek.
The Gunners welcome London rivals West Ham to the Emirates Stadium on Saturday while Liverpool return to action later in the weekend against struggling Manchester City.
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