After being schooled by Manchester City in the Carabao Cup final, Arsenal suffered yet another 3-0 defeat, this time in the Premier League fixture, at the hands of the same opposition on Friday. As a result, the Gunners have fallen further behind in the race for a top-four finish.
Arsene Wenger’s men have made a trip to the Amex Stadium today and considering the team news, here is how we expect Wenger to roll out his starting XI against the Seagulls.
Team News
Nacho Monreal is sidelined owing to his back injury and will not be available for selection. While Spanish midfielder, Santi Cazorla, remains the long-term absentee with an Achilles injury, Alexandre Lacazette is currently nursing a knee injury and would miss the upcoming game. Jack Wilshere is also likely to sit out due to his minor ankle injury.
Goalkeeper
Petr Cech’s form and performance on the pitch have been questionable at times this season. The 35-year-old custodian is arguably nearing the twilight of his football career. Cech has managed to notch up just 9 clean sheets from 28 games this season, but Wenger is expected to persist with him against Chris Hughton’s troops.
Defence
The Frenchman is expected to roll out a four-man defensive wall comprising of Shkodran Mustafi and Laurent Koscielny in central defence. These two experienced players really need to showcase their resilience and fare much better. Sead Kolasinac is expected to operate from the left-back with Hector Bellerin likely to be given the green signal to start from the right-back slot.
Midfield
Granit Xhaka is yet to consistently perform week in week out. The Swiss international has flattered to deceive ever since his move to the Emirates Stadium in the summer of 2016 and he is one of the players in the books of Wenger who needs to up the ante.
Xhaka is likely to be pencilled alongside Aaron Ramsey, and the latter’s darting runs forward should come handy for the north London outfit. Mesut Ozil should be handed the no.10 role as it is the position where he thrives really well and he should be able to offer his creativity in the final third.
Attack
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang missed a penalty against the Sky Blues and he would be craving to find the back of the net against Albion having had a mini barren run. The Gabon international is taking some time to adjust to the Premier League but is expected to start up front this weekend and he is likely to be aided by Alex Iwobi from the left-wing and Henrikh Mkhitaryan from the right.
