There are just four days left before Arsenal’s trip to the Etihad, and with all of Mikel Arteta’s squad fit except for Calum Chambers, the Spanish coach has a myriad of combinations to make up our defensive back four.
There seems to be some doubt if Cedric Soares is ever going to start a game for us as he has not been seen so far and is unlikely to sign an extension for our final games, but that still leaves Arteta with 8 choices to fill the four slots.
Arteta has already admitted that he would need to use his subs until the players are match fit again, so potentially all 8 could be used but I am sure at least a couple of defenders will have to play the whole 90 minutes against Man City.
In our friendly games against Brentford the other day, Arsenal started with Bellerin, Mustafi, Pablo Mari, Tierney and after the break, Luiz came on while Mari went to the bench, but Arteta still changed the line up after another 15 minutes, and the back four that played the last half hour was; Sokratis, Holding, Luiz, and Kolasinac.
Luiz was roundly criticized for being at fault for Brentford’s winner, but surely he won’t drop another clanger like that next Wednesday. Although I am sure many would like to see Mari and Mustafi start against City, I have a feeling that Arteta will stick with the highly experienced pair of Sokratis and Luiz against City’s lethal attack.
On the flanks, Arteta seems to be well impressed with the fit again Kieran Tierney and I think he will start on one side with Bellerin on the other.
Who would choose as our back four for this crucial first game back in action?