So the big game against Chelsea approaches, and I think Arsenal have more reason to be confident of a first win over Chelsea for some time, especially now that Arsene Wenger is feeling confident that both Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez will be on the pitch.
Wenger said yesterday: “Compared to last week we have no big problems from the squad that was available to face Stoke. The good news is that Ozil will certainly be available. For Alexis the next few days will be decisive but I think this time he will make it to be available for selection.”
So although we will have no Coquelin or Cazorla, we will certainly be much more creative than we were against Stoke last week, but who do you think will make up the starting XI?
If Sanchez and Ozil start that means that a couple of players will have to drop out. We have no problems in defence so we will have our strongest back five, which means that Mertesacker will keep Gabriel on the bench.
The central midfield is our weak point, but I am sure that Wenger will stick with Flamini and leave newboy Elneny on the bench for emergencies. Ramsey will only be dropped if he contracts leprosy in the next few days!
Another certainty is that Wenger will stick with Giroud to start, and Walcott has a good record against the Blues and I think he will start on the right wing. Although Campbell has every right to expect to play, I think he will share the left wing with Alexis as Wenger will not want the Chilean to play the whole 90 minutes.
So here’s my prediction….
Giroud
Sanchez Ozil Walcott
Flamini Ramsey
Monreal Koscielny Mertesacker Bellerin
Cech
Who disagrees with that line-up?