Unai Emery has to get his team selection right for must-win game at Leicester City.
There is no getting away from the fact that Unai Emery cannot afford to lose against Leicester City on Saturday. If he does then the pressure on him from some of the fans will be immense.
The thing is this, Arsenal has a very strong squad and have the players to win this game but the team selection, tactics and formation have to be spot on.
Under normal circumstances when Arsenal play midweek in the Europa League the players that featured would not be picked at the weekend in the Premier League. I am not sure that will be the case this weekend.
The game was fairly local in terms of travel, it was Portugal not Azerbaijan and it was on a Wednesday.
As usual, it is always a bit of guesswork with Emery’s team selections. But I do try.
In goal Leno is a given and to some extent so is the defence. I do feel he will start Tierney even though the Scottish international started against Vitoria. Luiz and Sokratis will most likely start in the centre, Emery trusts them for some weird reason. Bellerin looks good to start on the right.
Midfield is generally tricky but due to injuries, internal problems and the opponents I think it is fairly straight forward this week. Guendouzi is an almost certain starter and for me, so is Torreira. With Ceballos now sidelined it looks nailed on the Ozil will start. I am also of the opinion that Joe Willock will be given a start.
I am not convinced that Emery will start Pepe, he just will not go too heavy in attack away from home. He is a pragmatist after all. So, Aubameyang and Lacazette up front.
Predicted lineup
Leno
Tierney
Sokratis
Luiz
Bellerin
Torreira
Guendouzi
Willock
Ozil
Lacazette
Aubameyang
Of course, Emery could pick a team with as many as six changes to my predicted lineup but when taking everything into consideration I am fairly confident I will be close.