Alan Pardew is looking forward to facing Arsene Wenger again ahead of Crystal Palace’s match with Arsenal at Selhurst Park.

The pair have clashed in the past, most notably in a touchline row in 2006 when Pardew was at West Ham, but a mutual respect has grown between them in recent years.

Their most famous encounter in recent times was when Pardew’s Newcastle side came back from 4-0 down at half-time to draw 4-4 with Arsenal in 2011, and the Eagles boss has fond memories of that match.

“You clash during the game and incidents happen, success and failure and everything else that comes your way,” said Pardew.

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Mutual respect: Arsene Wenger is back at Selhurst Park this afternoon

“Last minute goals, 4-0 down at half time, I’ve had some rip-roaring encounters against him.

“But it’s the emotion of the game, and I respect Arsene’s emotion and I think he respects mine.

“Of course I still look back on that 4-4 draw with great fondness. But there’s other games where I’ve suffered, the 7-3 at the Emirates, so I’ve been embarrassed too."

He added: “You’ve got to accept the challenge at what they bring. If you’re half-hearted or not confident in that challenge you’re going to get found out.

“Wenger is a winner and so am I so we are going to clash at times. We both want to win and it ends there. The sideline on Saturday will be exactly the same.”

Pardew added that Wenger played a big role in Palace capturing their French striker Yaya Sanogo on loan until the end of the season.

He said: “Sanogo and I had a conversation about where he could go, and Arsene had a big influence on that.

“He could have gone back to Auxerre, and I think he had another couple of Premier League options, and Arsene was kind enough to steer him our way.”

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Pardew praised the current Gunners squad, and in particular Santi Cazorla, whom he described as Arsenal’s player of the season so far.

“I think he’s got a good team this year, a team that can challenge for trophies so I think he’s feeling pretty confident about that,” said the Eagles boss.

“I think Cazorla’s had the most passes, assists, crosses, he’s really up there at the top of the list in almost every section.

“So therefore a player that wasn’t always a permanent fixture in the side has earned that right, and I’m sure Arsene will be very pleased with him.”

Arsenal have won just two of their eight Premier League games ahead of a Champions League match this season, and Pardew took heart in that statistic.

“I’d have preferred to play them next weekend but I’m pleased with the stat; that gives me some confidence. Two out of eight, that’s not good,” he said.