Palace come up against an Arsenal side who only narrowly missed out on last season’s title, but do so off the back of three points – and an impressive display – from a season-opening 1-0 win at Sheffield United.
Club captain Ward has played some 336 times in the red and blue, and is well aware of the power of a vociferous Selhurst Park.
He told BBC Radio 5 Live: “What they [Arsenal] did last season took people by surprise in some ways. This year, there’s that pressure to emulate that, and maybe kick on a little bit more. From our perspective, we know it’s going to be a tough test.
“But we also know the kind of environment that we can create at Selhurst. It makes it difficult for teams to go there – and hopefully we can impose our game just as much as they do theirs.
“If we do that and nullify their threats as much as we can, we can hurt them, certainly. I’ve got full confidence in that.”