Crystal Palace interim boss Paddy McCarthy outlines  ‘aggressive’ approach for Arsenal

Crystal Palace interim boss Paddy McCarthy has promised an aggressive approach to Sunday’s Premier League clash away to Arsenal.

Current U21 manager McCarthy, who made 151 appearances as a defender for the Eagles, will lead the team out at The Emirates after Patrick Vieira was sacked on Friday morning.

The Gunners are top of the Premier League by five points and have won their last five outings.

“It’s a massive moment for myself, but it’s not about me,” McCarthy told PalaceTV.

“My only focus at the moment is about getting the team prepared and ready for Arsenal in the short space of time that we have.

“I’ll push all that emotion to the side. Yes, it’s a great opportunity for myself and Darren to manage at that level, but the focus is solely on the game plan and implementing it on Sunday.

“We’ll try and implement an aggressive style out of possession in different ways. We’ll look to be aggressive when we don’t have the ball, and we’ll look to progress the ball up the pitch in possession.

“That obviously said, we’ve only got a short amount of time to implement a few ideas, so I don’t want to flood the players with too much information. 

“But at this football club, part of our identity is that we’re aggressive out of possession and certainly quick and fast in the attacking third.”

The Eagles are the only side in the Premier League without a win in 2023.

“We’ve got some excellent attacking players here and we want to get the ball up to them as many times as possible. I’m sure that up against any defenders, with their quality, they can be a real problem.

“There is an abundance of talent in the group. I know that and I think everybody knows that. 

“They have shown it in games over the course of the season. There is definite quality in the group – we just have to try our best to get it out of them. “