Predicted Arsenal team to face Chelsea in crucial Premier League clash

Arsenal team more or less picks itself with Sokratis only change

Injuries and suspensions mean that Mikel Arteta has very little room for manoeuvre and to a large degree the team picks itself for the game against Chelsea this evening.

Bernd Leno is a guaranteed starter in goal, I doubt anyone is surprised at that, however, I do expect at least one change in defence from the team that drew against Sheffield United.

Sokratis is very likely to take over from Shkodran Mustafi in the centre of defence and renew his partnership with David Luiz at the back.

Bukayo Saka is almost certain to retain his place on the left and ditto Ainsley Maitland-Niles on the right, basically because there is no one else.

In midfield, I am very confident that Lucas Torreira and Granit Xhaka will keep their places, in fact, I would be stunned to my core if they do not.

Now, it gets a little tricky, I would personally drop Mesut Ozil but I just cannot see Arteta doing that and I fully expect him to start.

Nicolas Pepe is another very likely starter and the same with Gabriel Martinelli, it is inconceivable that the young Brazilian is not selected.

That leaves just Alexandre Lacazette and just like Ozil I would personally drop him but again, just like Ozil, I expect Arteta to persevere with the out of form Frenchman.

So, this is the line up that I believe that Arteta will go for

Predicted Arsenal line-up

Leno
Saka
Sokratis
Luiz
Maitland-Niles
Torreira
Xhaka
Ozil
Pepe
Martinelli
Lacazette

On a personal note, I would go with Dani Ceballos and Eddie Nketiah and drop Ozil and Lacazette but I just cannot see that happening this evening.

16 Comments

  1. I also want Ceballos to start too, but he has not played for a long time

    Maybe he could come as a sub when Ozil is tired

    1. A sub would be nice for Ceballos. Nkethiah is a No for me Lacazethe plays. Nkethiah can have last10 minutes depending on situations. We can afford to gamble its a derby game.

  2. Yup that oughta be very close to the starting line up
    but because it’s an away game I reckon MA might go
    with an extra mid to start
    Subs can be used to bolster the attack later if needed.
    Plus because its only 3 days since SU may be some fresh legs are needed?
    Gonna be tasty because both sides are desperate for a win
    Hopefully no red cards or penalties

  3. Yes it picks itself…sadly
    I hope AMN will be more composed than how he did against Sheffield. We need to be solid defensively.
    It’s unrealistic to root for the win here but let’s hope for some miracle to happen COYG!!

  4. Ceballos/willock or even guendouzi,they are not no.10s.Emery has tried them there and they have not performed well.
    Ozil is a natural 10 and if you look at what MA said in the press conference,he defended ozil and his performances.Perspective is important in life and if you dont like ozil you will not see what he brings to the team,the same goes to xhaka,mustafi and the rest of the team.

    And people crying for ceballos should know that he had only one good performance against burnley.I think ceballos can be developed into a very good 8 and he obviously will have a great future.

    And i will start mustafi in this game because he had a good game against shf utd

  5. We need to sign players this month. 100m pounds should get Thomas Partey and Lewis Dunk. These two signings will make the squad great. Every player has a price. We bought Aubameyang and Arshavin in January. Liverpool bought VVD in January. If our owners are serious, we can get those two players in January. Arteta needs all the support. All top managers sign top quality players.

    we can do a swap with Athletico madrid. we give them Lacazette and cash to Get Thomas Lemar and Thomas Partey.

    1. It is not about having the money to spend but will you get the players you want?be informed ATM is not ready to sell partey for now.

      1. There is always a price tag. we can offer Thomas Partey high wages he wont resist. 200K a week wages and 55m pounds offer will get Partey. Barca want to offload Rakitic. we should consider that option as well. Our current midfield options are not good enough. Willock, Guendouzi should be loaned out this month. we cannot afford to play kids till the end of the season. we need goals from midfield. we need to go on a consistent run of form.

    2. When I suggested in a previous post that the owners might want to dip into their billionaire pockets, I was reminded by someone on here about financial fair play. I think that unless the club can sell the players they don’t want for big bucks to then provide the money to buy new talent then we are stuck with what we have.

    3. We will all be glad if you can donate that amount to the arsenal and you will forever be remembered as a fan who loves the club so much to contribute to transfer purse. Thanks in advance 😄😄

  6. Yes, Admin Martin, I also suspect that this will be the team. MA has little room to move and even less so away against a tram like Chelsea. Hopefully there is a bit more energy than there was against SU.

  7. I personally think that Özil is usually misjudged. Playing in those pockets is probably the most tricky thing a football player can do. Most of the Özil h8ers don’t see that, because they haven’t played the game themselves.

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