How could Arsenal lineup against Besiktas today? by SE
It’s that time of the season when you play 3 games within a week if you are a top Premiership club. Arsenal, however, start their Champions League campaign a month ahead of their Premier League rivals, after finishing fourth in the league last season. With congestion of fixtures comes the need for squad rotation and that is the primary reason why you have a bigger pool of players, albeit your core remains more or less the same. Arsenal play their 1st leg away at Besiktas and there will be a couple of considerations for Wenger to take before he picks his starting XI for tonight’s game. Arsenal played a Premier League game 72 hours prior to this fixture, and 72 hours later they will find themselves in another Premier League fixture that will prove indispensable to their title charge.
However, having stressed on the importance of getting into the Champions League group stages, you can be rest assured that Wenger will put out a strong team and ensure that Arsenal don’t ‘topple’, as Ba proclaimed.
Kieran Gibbs, who started against Crystal Palace and picked up a hamstring injury, hasn’t recovered, and, the worrying news is that he will be out of action for three weeks. Monreal will slot in at Left-Back for the Englishman, and if Koscielny is fit, the rest of the defence should remain the same. But what could be the other possible changes?
Sanchez and Cazorla played as wide strikers against Crystal Palace, alongside Sanogo, with Wilshere, Ramsey and Arteta completing the midfield triangle. If Wenger puts out his strongest possible lineup, that front six could start again, with the exception of Sanogo, who could be replaced by his compatriot Giroud. It would also be interesting to see whether Campbell and Chamberlain get game time, considering the fixtures that lie ahead for Arsenal in the coming weeks.
Arsenal’s probable starting XI – Formation 4-3-3: Wojciech Szczesny (GK), Mikel Arteta (C), Mathieu Debuchy, Calum Chambers, Laurent Koscielny, Aaron Ramsey, Jack Wilshere, Alexis Sanchez, Santi Cazorla, Nacho Monreal and Olivier Giroud.
Suhith