With the Arsenal away game against an in form and high flying Southampton being the third game for the Gunners in a week, Arsene Wenger will obviously have some concerns over the fitness of some of his Arsenal players. But it is a vital game as well so the manager has a bit of a balancing act to perform.
Hopefully there will be no problems with the back four, as Mathieu Debuchy and Laurent Koscielny should be quite fresh after an extended period on the side, while KIeran Gibbs was given a rest against West Ham on Boxing Day. And it looks like the manager is going to be forced into a change or two in the front line after the news of Welbeckâs thigh problem.
But the big decision, for me, is in central midfield. With no Ramsey, Arteta or Wilshere, it looks like Flamini will start again, but who to play alongside him? Francis Coquelin was very impressive against West Ham, but he has not played too much and Wenger admitted that he was running out of steam towards the end of that match. But if he is fit then he would give the Gunners more stability in a tough away game.
THen you have the Ox or Rosicky, both of whom have had great games in the middle recently. Rosicky has had a full week to rest since last playing, while Chamberlain may be used on either side of the front three. So if Wenger does want to be a bit more attacking of if Coquelin is not quite ready to start in Southampton, I think it will be our little Mozart that gets the nod. Do you agree?