Arsenal ran riot on the south-coast yesterday in the FA Cup, and the manager will now have some serious thinking to do in order to realise his best starting line-up.
The Gunners beat Southampton 5-0 yesterday, thanks to Danny Welbeck and Theo Walcott with the five combined goals.
The duo have both been out of the side for a while due to injuries, and are now staking their claims for regular action, and on yesterday’s evidence, are well deserved of one.
The problem stems with other in-form players also vying for roles also however, with Alexis Sanchez, Mesut Ozil, Olivier Giroud and Alex Iwobi already having stamped their foot down on first-team roles.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was also extremely impressive in an experimental central midfield role, and I would seriously consider him to play alongside Francis Coquelin in the pivot, with his range of passing and vision excelling this weekend. Santi Cazorla has been missed since falling foul of injury, and the Ox surprisingly gave us something special in the role yesterday.
Theo Walcott was a key member of our starting XI earlier in the campaign, which saw Alexis showcase his immense talents as a centre-forward, and I cant help but think that with the England and Arsenal winger back in the side, Giroud may well find himself demoted back to the bench in favour of that system.
Lucas Perez is another player who has really opened my eyes in his recent outings, combining extremely well with his fellow forwards, as well as showing a keen eye for goal, but Arsene currently seems reluctant to over-use him which is a shame.
Which of our FA Cup team do you think most deserves a shot at a permanent first-team role in the coming weeks? If you had to choose your XI to play Chelsea today, who would you pick?
Pat J