We all know that Arsenal are desperate to get back to winning ways in the League against Southampton next Tuesday after having three winless games in a row, but first of all we have an equally important Fa Cup match to negotiate first against Burnley on Saturday afternoon.
Wengwr always makes some changes for Cup games, but ultimately we are aiming for an historic treble in the competition, a feat that hasn’t been achieved for well over a century, so we must also make sure we make no mistake in this game either.
The injury returnees like Sanchez, Coquelin and Rosicky and the arrival of Elneny will give Wenger a few extra options, but he needs to balance their fitness against the need to win urgently. There is no way he can risk starting the game with all four, could he? Mind you Rosicky wasn’t in yesterday’s training session although he did play in midweek with the reserves…
David Ospina will definitely be in goal, and I guess Mertesacker will play as he will be banned from the Southampton match. Giroud will probably start after only playing 20 minutes against Chelsea. Alex Iwobi performed well in the last round against Sunderland so I fancy him to play again, but who else could be picked?
The only other youngster that trained with the squad was, of course, Jeff Riene-Adelaide, who I thought would be in front of Iwobi in the pecking order, but Wenger obviously thinks differently. Maybe he will hink he’s good enough to face Burnley?
Who do you think we can afford to rest for Tuesday’s crucial match?