Arsenal are in the middle of a gruelling run of fixtures at the moment, but our best players can have some respite on Thursday when we can play a completely rotated team against Qarabag in the Europa League. We have already qualified from the Group and a draw will guarantee we finish top but we really need to rest some players – as fatigue, injuries and suspensions are starting to make an impact on the squad.
So who should be playing on Thursday? We know Petr Cech will be in goal, but we have very few defenders we can call on. Sokratis is likely to play as he is suspended for the Saints on Sunday, and Jenkinson, Maitland-Niles and possibly Lichtsteiner will complete the back line, although Emery may give Monreal and Koscielny half a game each to assess their fitness for Sunday.
Elneny, Smith-Rowe, Willock and Nketiah should all start, but who is Emery likely to pick for the remaining positions? Osei-Tutu, Gilmour, John-Jules, Medley and Saka were all on the bench before the last game against Vorskla and could feature again. But surely Emery will want a couple more experienced players in the team to steady the ship and keep our unbeaten run going? Maybe Mhkitaryan and Iwobi again, as they only played 45 minutes at the weekend?
What team would you choose?
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