The biggest surprise for me in Arsene Wenger´s team selection for the game between Arsenal and top four rivals Liverpool today is not that both Mesut Ozil and Santi Cazorla will start, but that Per Mertesacker is preferred to the Brazilian Gabriel in the centre of our defence.
With the pace and trickery of Raheem Sterling and Phillipe Coutinho to deal with, I hope that the boss is right to opt for our giant German´s Premier League experience and reading of the game over the pace and tigerish defending of our January transfer signing.
Danny Welbeck is fit enough for the bench and I would have expected him to start but Wenger has gone for Ozil in the wide forward role, with Cazorla in the number 10 position, so with Alexis on the other side of the in form Giroud, there is plenty of pace and guile in our attack and with Liverpool having to replace the suspended Skrtel with the former Gunner Kolo Toure, we should give them plenty of problems.
Lallana has not recovered and Sturridge is only fit enough for the bench so with Ramsey and Coquelin to protect our own back four, you would expect Arsenal to be too strong for the visitors, but nothing is certain and the players need to be on their toes from the start.
Ospina
Bellerin, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Monreal
Coquelin
Ozil, Ramsey, Cazorla, Alexis
Giroud
subs: Macey, Gabriel, Gibbs, Flamini, Rosicky, Walcott, Welbeck
The keeper situation is a bit of a worry, with young Matt Macey on the bench as Martinez has been loaned out and Szczesny….who knows? Let´s just hope nothing happens to Ospina and that Arsenal win of course.