WHO STARTS ON SATURDAY IS NOT A FORGONE CONCLUSION.
The new season is just a matter of days away and Gooners all over the world will be hoping we can kickstart another quest for title glory with a convincing win against Wolves. We Arsenal fans have an idea of what the starting lineup might look like ahead of the season opener, but what might be going on in Mikel’s head may be contrary. Some positions in the starting XI are already nailed but there are still questions marks regarding some positions.
Today I would like to look at those positions and the players vying for a starting berth.
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- LEFTBACK:
- with the arrival of Calafiori who could potentially play there, coupled with the recent form of Zinchenko in pre season, then who might start there on Saturday will be a tough decision for Mikel to make. Furthermore with the potential return from injury by Tomiyasu and Timber then it might be an even tougher call to make by the boss. These headaches however are good ones to have and shows that we have good strength in depth.
- DEFENSIVE MIDFIELD:
- Barring the potential arrival of someone like Merino, then who starts as the deepest lying midfielder on Saturday can be anyone’s guess, Jorginho or Partey or Rice?, you have your pick. Partey played most of the pre season games and looked decent enough to start the season opener, however, we could see Rice being dropped deeper to accommodate Havertz and Jesus or we could see Jorginho being preferred as we saw for most parts of the season.
- LEFTWING:
- Who starts here on Saturday is a direct shoot out between Martinelli and Trossard, I absolutely adore both options, slightly preferring Trossard more due to his ability to operate in tight spaces when playing against a low block, nevertheless either player could start that game and it wouldn’t pose a concern to us gooners especially when playing well.
- CENTER FORWARD:
- Just like who plays on the left wing this is the same case as a battle between two players, Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz. Given that I don’t see Arsenal signing any new striker before the window ends then this could be the same story throughout the campaign. Jesus has looked back to his very best both physically and mentally during the pre season, also scoring three goals (including the behind the scenes friendly). However, he could be benched in favour of Havertz due to his encouraging form towards the back end of last season and the Euros.
Who do you think Arteta will choose against Wolves?
KENNETH BENJAMIN.
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for Wolves on Saturday
White —– Saliba —– Gabriel —– Zinc
Odegaard —— Partey —— Rice
Saka —— Havertz —— Trossard
as the season progresses expect Merino in the left #8 and Rice moving back to #6, and Calafiori at left back for Zinc
with Calafiori and Merino additions, Timber return from injury, and Jesus and Zinc return to form then hopefully Arteta will rotate more, both in game and between games
Arteta would most likely go with your lineup, because he’ll need Zinchenko’s attacking skills to break Wolves’ defense, Havertz’s/ Rice’s aerial abilities for the set-pieces and Trossard’s composure to score from open play
I don’t think he’ll have a difficulty at selecting the starters
I don’t think it’s a headache for Arteta as I would think he already knows his starting eleven for the Wolves game and has been playing practice matches at London Colney with his selected line up. The only selection headache is for us fans, having to wait until 2pm Saturday to know who starts.
It’s hardly a headache when there are players of that quality to select a strong side from. Just a pleasant, painless concern. It’s why Arteta gets over £8 Million a year.
Exactly it’s fun to debate but ultimately Arteta over took Liverpool/Klopp with less money (including wages) so we should probably have faith.
Without Arteta I think Klopp considers not leaving. The main reasons for Klopp leaving City/Internal would still be there and may have happened anyway but the prospect of such a young team on such lower wages outperforming him certainly sealed the deal.
It’s Martinelli v Trossard and Rice/Partey v Jesus. With the 1st options looking more likely.
Absolutely right, but it’s no longer London Colney but Sobha