Arsenal Predicted XI: We predict Mikel Arteta’s starting XI this afternoon as they travel to Manchester City in a massive Premier League fixture
Arteta has not included Ozil for quite some time.
Arsenal Predicted XI: We predict Mikel Arteta’s starting XI this afternoon as they travel to Manchester City in a massive Premier League fixture
It’s been a fairly solid start for the Gunners this campaign with the only negative result and performance coming at the 3-1 away loss to Liverpool in September.
Other than that, it’s only been wins for Arteta’s side, but they know they will face a tough match at the Etihad in the 5:30pm kick off this afternoon.
Despite the tough opponents, Arsenal will be confident going into the match, with Pep’s men not playing their best football at this current time.
Here we predict the Spaniard’s starting XI….
Goalkeeper:
Following the sale of Emilano Martinez to Aston Villa, that makes way for Bernd Leno to fully stake his claim as the Arsenal number one. He will start today and will be hoping for another clean sheet, something that was a rarity for the Gunners last term.
Defenders:
Arsenal actually have a lot of injuries in the defensive positions with Shkordan Mustafi and Pablo Mario both out of action. However, Rob Holding and new man Gabriel looked very strong against Fulham, but David Luiz paired with the Lille man against the Blades last time out and will be expected to again. Hector Bellerin and Kieran Tierney should keep their place on either flank, but it depends on Tierney’s ability to play due to his isolation period.
Midfielders:
Arteta is certainly not afraid to mix it up in the midfield positions, so it makes it difficult for us and any opposition manager to second guess his choices. We expect deadline-day signing Thomas Partey to come into the side to make his debut alongside Grannit Xhaka and Bukayo Saka to provide much-needed energy, against the varied movement of Pep’s team.
Forwards:
We believe Arteta will again mix up his side and play Ashley Maitland-Niles on one of the wings to provide defensive cover, with Willian on the other side, to again provide plenty of work rate. This means Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang will get the chance to play down the middle in the loan strikers role.
Predicted XI: Leno; Bellerin, Gabriel, Luiz, Tierney; Partey, Xhaka, Saka; Maitland-Niles, Willian, Aubameyang.