Arsenal are in the midst of a crisis at this stroke of hour as they have lost their last four games across all competitions, with the latest outing ending in a 2-1 defeat at the AMEX Stadium at the hands of Brighton & Hove Albion in the Premier League.
They have withered away in the race for a finish inside the top-four spots in the league and it goes without saying that winning the Europa League looks like the only gateway to the Champions League next season for them. Arsene Wenger’s men are due to face AC Milan in the first-leg of the Round of Sixteen of the Europa League today at San Siro.
Arsenal Team News
Nacho Monreal is out with a back problem whereas Alexandre Lacazette is sidelined owing to his knee injury. The North London based outfit would also be bereft of the services of striker, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, as the Gabon international was not included in the Arsenal squad for Europa League prior to 1st February 2018.
To worsen the case further for Arsenal, Hector Bellerin is also out due to his knee injury. Meanwhile, Santi Cazorla remains out of contention as his long-term Achilles woes continue.
Here is how we expect Wenger to roll out his starting line-up against Gattuso’s troops.
Goalkeeper
While Petr Cech has been deployed by Wenger in the league fixtures, David Ospina should see himself getting the nod to start as the custodian in the Europa League game.
Defence
Sead Kolasinac and Bellerin were instrumental for the Gunners in the group stages. However, Calum Chambers is expected to start from the right-back in the absence of the Spanish speedster. Kolasinac’s physicality and willingness to work hard should see him stationed at the left-back.
Shkodran Mustafi and Laurent Koscielny are likely to be stationed at the heart of Arsenal’s defence yet again. These two defenders have flattered to deceive of late but in such a big game, Arsenal desperately need their two prime centre-backs to deliver.
Midfield
Granit Xhaka divides opinion amongst the Arsenal fans as he has shown tremendous grit on some occasions and lacklustre performances at other times. Nonetheless, Wenger seems to trust the Swiss international and is expected to give the green light for him to start in the upcoming fixture.
Alongside Xhaka, we expect Aaron Ramsey to start from the central midfield. Mesut Ozil would be a key player against the Italian giants and the German playmaker is anticipated to operate from the central attacking midfield.
Attack
With Lacazette sidelined and Aubameyang ineligible to play, we expect Danny Welbeck to start as the striker. Henrikh Mkhitaryan would be craving to get goals and assists to his name and he is expected to be chalked in the right-wing. Meanwhile, Alex Iwobi should be making a start from the left-wing.
