With all of the first round of international games now done and dusted, Arsenal can get back to business and our season really starts to hot up, with our first domestic cup action coming up along with the Champions League group stages and the Premier League to consider.
This week is a big one for the Gunners, with a trip to France to face PSG in the middle of two Premier League games against Southampton and Hull City that we must surely win to keep up with the early EPL pacesetters. As well as challenging for the title, though, Arsene Wenger and the players will be desperate to end our long run of finishing as runners up in Europe and having to face one of the group winners in the next stage.
The French champions are clearly our main rivals for top spot so we could really do with at least a point on Tuesday. With injury problems and fitness concerns I would think that the boss would want to rotate at least some of the players for Saturday and Tuesday but he will also want as strong a side as possible for both matches.
I still think we can do this, however, because the two games are likely to be different and so maybe different teams would be better suited to each one. Against the Saints at home I think we can be more adventurous and start with the more creative Santi Cazorla and Granit Xhaka in midfield. Against PSG we need to be more solid and so Coquelin with either Ramsey or Elneny might be the better option.
Wenger may also want to start with a different forward lines, such as Giroud through the middle on Saturday and the new striker Lucas Perez in Paris, where his pace and counter attacking ability will be more useful. I would also consider saving Alexis Sanchez for the Champions League match in order for him to be as fresh as possible.
How much do you think Wenger can afford to rotate the Arsenal squad for these crucial clashes?
Bob.