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Official Arsenal team to face West Ham – Mikel Arteta selects Mari, Ozil and Nketiah

Mikel Arteta has selected a team with definite attacking intent.

Mikel Arteta has gone with an attacking lineup to deliver all three points against West Ham United. Eddie Nketiah retains his starting spot in attack with Alexandre Lacazette confined to the bench once again.

Pablo Mari keeps his place at the heart of the defence and once again partners David Luiz. There is no place for Reiss Nelson as Nicolas Pepe is brought back in.

Mesut Ozil returns and will hopefully be the creative spark to open up the West Ham defence.

Is this the team to beat West Ham United, has Mikel Arteta called it right? Let us know in the comments below

Links to streams will be put in the comments where to watch the game live and free so keep checking in.

Also, if you go to the official Arsenal website here you will be able to get live commentary text and radio.

JustArsenal match preview here
JustArsenal predicted line up here (for comparison)
Pundits predict Arsenal v West Ham here

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78 Comments

  1. Arteta is deluded. He plays
    Sokratis instead of Bellerin
    Nketiah instead of Martinelli.

    Martinelli, one of the top scorers replaced by Nketiah as a main player. Main striker Aubameyang has to accommodate him by moving to left wing.

    1. Let him do his job. He train with them every day and knows their match fitness level. He picks his strongest team.

    2. I think Arteta wants to approach this game cautiously, hence Sokratis starts instead of Bellerin and Maitland-Niles

      Skills wise, Aubameyang or Martinelli should have started as the lone striker. But I guess Arteta prefers someone who plays as if today was his last day

      I believe Nketiah will risk it all to keep his position in the starting line-up. We already have too many so-called creative players who are reluctant to risk their legs, so a courageous young attacker like Nketiah is a good addition to the squad

    3. Let’s not jump to conclusions; must be a reason for Bellerin to not play, maybe at injury risk.

      Now of course , it does look like a crazy formation but if he doesn’t have any other option at CB and Bellerin at risk, he is right to play Sokratis as RB.

      Looks to me that he’d rather play Niles who is not happy to just be used as a RB hole filler, Saka accepts it or he’d be benched and off the team as well.

      I disagree with Arteta to use youngsters to fill holes in defense, it is always best to have defenders to play in the back 4. Their primary job is to defend and feel more secured with a defender than Saka.

      Saka shines going forward, he is a winger, permutation with Xhaka covering while he spends most of his time forward works tho.

      Attack, we have so many options as this one!

    4. Good god what is wrong with you people!? 60 plus comments here and nearly everyone of them slagging off the manager or the players it’s actually disgraceful no wonder are fans are a laughing stock in the prem, most of us dont even like the manager players or the owner.

  2. If Arteta wants to attack, he should have played Maitland-Niles instead of Sokratis and Mustafi should have started instead of Luiz. But I guess Arteta wants to play safe today

    I hope Ozil could make a bigger impact as what Mkhitaryan are doing at AS Roma and I wish Pepe saw what Nelson did in Porstmouth. We need creative players who can unlock the opposition’s defense and those two players must be able to do so

    1. Mustafi is injured and not completely fit.

      AMN has disciplinary issues, needs to learn that Arteta is the manager.

    2. Nelson did it against League 1 opposition.
      Pepe did it against Newcastle – and did it better.

      But yeah, Pepe needs Nelson for inspiration. LOL

  3. Sokratis playing RB again… Niles has to have sworn at Arteta in training or something…… I can’t seem to figure out the logic behind coaches’ decisions sometimes…… anyways…. I hope we win comfortably.

    1. Why put a player in a position where at the end of the game he will say that “it’s not where I want to play am just doing a job.” For me Niles wait for his chance in the midfield. He had his chance at right back.

      1. He’s a better option than Sokratis at RB nonetheless, Saka is being played out of position too, and as far as I know he’s been vocal about preferring the wings, so, why shouldn’t Niles be allowed to ‘do a job’. I’m glad Bellerin got dropped, but for Sokratis…. I’m not sure what to think about that. Let’s hope the decision doesn’t cost him though

  4. Arteta is stifling the team’s attacking ability by playing Socaratis at right back. Bellerin did not play on Monday so he should be fresh, but if not him then where is Maitland-Niles?

  6. There will be no line up Arsenal fans don’t complain about.. y’all are petty and bunch of moaners. You people are so deluded.. Supporters the team and your players. Kicking them down even before the match is not good at all.

  7. the wrestler will b off after 20,zak swanson better dan the 2 fools.,.shocking line up ,this isnt pompey

  8. Sokratis at RB again is beyond strange! I am glad Bellerin has been dropped…but for a CB?

    Cannot wait to see Mari, and I am glad Nketiah gets another start.

    I have also come to the conclusion that Luiz, Ozil, and Xhaka must be immune. Doesn’t matter how poor they play, they always start.

    2. Emery’s, Ljungberg’s and Arteta’s persistences with those senior players have shown the senior players’ influences in the dressing room

      To maintain the team’s harmony, the managers can’t simply bench the underperforming senior players. Unless they become really awful

      1. I get what you’re saying about harmony, but the three players I have mentioned have been awful!

        Surely form has to precedence at some point? All these senior players went missing yet again in a pressured game, and now we’re out of Europe. How many chances do they get?

  9. Sokratis wouldn’t be my first option at right back but I believe in the managers decisions. I fully support Eddie strarting up top. He has 3 goals in 4 appearances there hence he justifies his selection. Come on you gunners let’s get the 3 points

  12. Arteta deserves to be judged/criticised from now onwards. Will reserve my say till after the match.

  13. Exactly! So much negativity with us. Always creating a toxic, confidence damaging atmosphere with this attitude. And that’s why Olympiacus could beat us in our own backyard…

  14. Sokratis starting at RB is actually good in a defensive point of view.His aggressiveness will be useful against antonio.And when needed they can shift to a back 3 allowing xhaka and ceballos to attack through middle.

    MA knows what he has doing and i trust him.
    COYG

  15. Please use your sense. This formation can change to 3 4 3 while the match is going on and if things does not go as plan then Bellerin can come in before its too late then as for Nketia he what starting he got 3 goals in 4 matches so all we need is good Luck to win this game,and as for you that want us to loss this game your are not one of us so go Cry to your mom for some Milk

  16. As soon as xhaka and Luiz’s names appear I know there will be difficulties and negative play … attacking qualities though nketiah is not the player to take us forward and lazy compared with martinelli and not half as dangerous … hopefully enough to beat west ham but not a hammering

  17. What issues does the couch have with Maitland Niles.the dude has not been playing. I hope theirs no bad blood between the two as it was between Ozil and Emry

  18. I’d have Auba instead of Nketia playing up front as a lone striker and Martinelli on the left wing.
    AMN at right back instead of Sokratis.
    We’ll see how Xhaka gets on. I would prefer Guendouzi but if Xhaka has one of his good games it would be the right decision.

  20. Don’t expect anything for the first 45 minutes that’s how it works , we are a second half team

  23. Explain what nketiah brings to this attack … he’s slow witted and lacks composure and control

  28. I hope we send Mari back on the next plan to Brazil, he is like a cheap Chinese replacement for expensive product. I amazed how some arsenal fans thought he would be our saviour in defence…This is what you get when you go penny pinching to Brazil league for a 26 year old foreign player there. Don’t not compare this to young talented players European teams scope up from there.

    1. And I’m amazed that you are judging him after 2 games absolutely pathetic plastic fanboy go support someone else honestly all the arsenal fans negativity is embarrassing no wonder other fans dont take us seriously with people like yourself.

      1. Haha…others fans don’t take us seriously because of not fans like me but clueless and delusional fans like you. Who think cheap quality like Mari will make us into world beater. If he is so good why is he playing his trade in low quality league like Brazil n being a Spanish player not a Brazilian player so you can give excuse he is playing in his homeland. You must be one of those guys who were beating their chest for being unbeaten in 2020 right?? Lol! When we only played like what 7-8 games in 2020. I like to be connected to reality n not be naive like you.

  29. A better team would already be TEN up against us. Whether we have 10% possession or 80% just know a good team will take 💯 of their chances.

  30. The only defender with any composure is the new guy … others are jokers .. but across the park some of the football has been shockingly below epl standard let alone a team chasing a European slot .. wanted arteta to see a change in football … do t see it yet

    1. Haha are you serious, the new guy was caught out of position a couple times, everytime Luiz has to call him and tell him where to be, apart from his long balls he offers nothing defensively!

      1. Jesus … Luiz calls on anyone coz he’s frightened of going forward … Luiz Socrates and xhaka made endless positional and passing errors … for a first premiership start he seemed pretty decent

  31. Honestly its hard to watch at times because we are so bad its embarrasing.
    Ozil is finished, xhaka is useless, nketiah is no way near a starting player.
    I wont judge MA yet because he inherited an awful squad but his team selection is questionable t say the least

  32. Pepe is so useless n so frustrating to watch. Completely destroys the game flow by hugging the ball too long n after doing all the hard work throws everything down the gutter just trying to emulate Messi. We got robbed by his former team.

    1. Like we always do. We don’t even have togetherness in our squad. Vultures will be circling us in the summer.

    2. Pepe is the only player who has opened their defense and would have been on goal if Nketiah didnt get in the way.
      Take a long hard look at the so called experienced high paid players who are invisible once again.

      1. That’s my point, what’s the point of all the dribbling when you can’t produce end product. The situation you are pointing to, Pepe has been in better situation before n produced nothing. How can you say he would have scored if Nkeitiah didn’t jump in.

  33. Arsenal were lucky in three occasions:

    – When Jarrod Bowen’s shot bounced off the left bar of our goal

    – After Mari failed to intercept West Ham’s pass as our last defender. Luckily West Ham attackers had a miscommunication

    – When our players left Antonio unmarked in a corner situation. Fortunately Antonio is not a lethal attacker

    I still believe Arsenal would score first, maybe after some players are substituted in the second half. But this match could have gone differently in the first half

  34. We’re not moving the ball quick enough. We’re not closing down quick enough. It’s all to slow. We need to bring back that intensity and desire we showed we have in previous games.
    Martinelli would bring that instead of Nketia.

  37. Pb; Arteta is incapable to pick formation. It is so shaky and risky, no balance.

    It is supposed to be an attachment line up with Ceballos and Ozil in middle, but Xhaka is no DM nor Ceballos who has to defend more instead to play forward.

    But we can indeed score, but should have conceid more. Westham coach can see shaky middle & back 4, he will insist on our weakness and block our attacks more.

    Easy to play and beat Arteta, players are doing their best, motivated but lost.

    Arteta is a great assistant coach, he gets players ready mentally and United, but A coach picks team and formation which defines tac tic being wrong or right! Guardiola was doing that!

  38. Gendouzi is a DM, he covers all defense. runs all over middle, that would allowed Ceballos to play higher and forward. It is all about that middle’s balance! Xhakanis no DM!

    1. This team is set up to disappoint Week In Week Out, it wouldn’t seem that way if we were a Wigan athletic or a Portsmouth，teams that used to earn their right to compete in the prem. It’s only a matter of time before the wake up call of relegation, literally the only way this club can move forward

  47. Lucky … But ozil deserved something one of few decent players today with ceballos and saka …let’s see if we can hold out

  48. People were turning on Lacazette because he had a bad run, forgetting he was our best player last year

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