Johnson centres thoughts on Palace

"We are going to have a go. We can't just camp in our own half and defend in numbers. It's not our style. But we have to keep a solid base. They are the master counterattacking team. Against Aston Villa they cut loose a little bit, which they can do.

"I think when you look at the size of the club their fans will come expecting to see a St Valentine's Day massacre. I hope it doesn't pan out. Players like Patrick Vieira, Thierry Henry, Dennis Bergkamp and Freddie Ljungberg are used to dealing with that pressure from the fans day in and day out."

Palace can take heart from their performance in the 1-1 draw against Wenger's team in early November when opponents started to become increasingly aware of Arsenal's defensive frailties.

"It was a big display for us," said Dowie. "We showed a lot of desire and on another day you win games like that.

"It shows that if you are prepared to look at them tactically, negate some of their strengths and add to that a willingness for the lads to give 110 per cent you are going to go close.

"Whether you are going to stop Henry going on a mazy dribble and scoring a wonder goal is another matter."

Palace's gameplan this evening will focus on absorbing Arsenal pressure and using Johnson's explosive pace to exploit the rearguard.

Dowie said: "If we perform on a similar level to our last game at Bolton we will give Arsenal a game."

Experienced midfielder Michael Hughes knows Highbury is still one of the toughest grounds to visit. "Anything we can get out of the game would be great," he said. "It's going to be tough as they had a great result in their last game. But the manager has been spot on most the season with what we have been doing so I'm sure that our approach will be right."

Hughes denies that the players have been affected by the contretemps between Dowie and chairman Simon Jordan over the failure to bring in new blood during the transfer window.

"The players don't get unsettled by things like that," said the Northern Ireland international. "The mood in the camp is very good. We are two points ahead of the bottom three and if you had offered us that at the start of the season we would have been happy. We're not beat yet."

Dowie, who hinted that he will stick with the 4-4-2 formation which he has used for the last three games, has no new injury worries after the midweek internationals so Palace could play the side that lost at Bolton.