Doesn't matter what pundits recommend for first novels. The story you want to tell should determine the POV you use.
Would it help to have an outside, omniscient narrator who sees all and has an attitude? ("It was the best of times, it was the worst of times." "“It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.") Omniscient POV requires such a narrator ---it's not, as many beginning writers believe, an excuse for promiscuous head-hopping.
Can you tell the story optimally from a single character's POV? If so, third person limited (or first person) may be your best bet. Both of these tend to promote strong reader identification with the POV character.
Maybe that's too limiting. If you do need other POV's to tell this story, you could go with several POV characters--only one per scene, though, to avoid giving readers that head-hopping vertigo. Just bear in mind that introducing a new POV is like adding another dimension and shouldn't be done lightly. Having lots of POV characters tends to weaken the readers identification with the protagonist. My usual rule of thumb (which,like all writing rules, can be broken for good cause) is that you use the minimum number of POV characters required to get the story told.
The point is, it's not at all an arbitrary choice, but should arise from the story itself.