Getting the midfield right is absolutely crucial for Emery.
The stats speak for themselves, Arsenal is not creating chances for the forwards or helping the defence out. Therefore it is imperative that Unai Emery gets it right against Southampton on Saturday. Arsenal simply cannot afford a repeat of almost every performance this season.
I would suggest it is a given that he starts with Matteo Guendouzi, he is probably one of just a few players that is an automatic starter under the Spaniard.
Now, I am going out on a limb but I reckon we will see a recall for Granit Xhaka. I believe that Emery prefers him to Torreira or Willock and given half a chance will include him.
Finally, it has to be Ozil just ahead of Guendouzi and Xhaka. There really is no one else that the manager can go with, is there?
So, with the defence I predicted here, we are looking at the following
Leno
Kolasinac
Sokratis
Luiz
Bellerin
Xhaka
Guendouzi
Ozil
I will cover the forward line in a later article but I do not think it is rocket science to guess what that will be.
Anyway, that is the midfield three I am going with. Obviously it becomes a midfield five if the wing-backs are utilised properly. But who knows with Emery?
Let me know in the comments section if you think that Emery will go with a different line up in the middle. I am not expecting much agreement, that’s the life under Unai Emery.