Following their 2-0 win against Chelsea in the Premier League on Saturday, Arsenal will host Manchester United in the fourth round of the FA Cup on Friday.
While the Gunners have blown hot and cold this season under the tutelage of Unai Emery, Manchester United have resurrected their form after the appointment of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer as their interim manager.
The Gunners are expected to take their upcoming FA Cup fixture seriously, and Emery is likely to field a strong starting line-up.
Hector Bellerin is on the long-term injury list after suffering a ligament injury during his side’s win over Chelsea, and has been ruled out for the rest of the season.
Danny Welbeck and Rob Holding are also on the treatment table, while Henrikh Mkhitaryan has returned to training following his lay-off with a broken foot.
Defence
Veteran shot-stopper Petr Cech could get a chance in between the sticks instead of Bernd Leno.
Sokratis Papastathopoulos and Laurent Koscielny are expected to start as the central defensive pairing. The two were resilient against Maurizio Sarri’s side, and need to be at the peak of their game once again as United have an in-form attack at the moment.
Sead Kolasinac might start as the left-back, while Ainsley Maitland-Niles could get the nod to start on the other side. Both the full-backs are productive while going forward, and they should come in handy against United.
Midfield
A midfield trifecta, comprising of Granit Xhaka, Lucas Torreira and Matteo Guendouzi, could be rolled out by Emery. Xhaka is expected to operate from the deeper areas in the midfield to provide more protection to the back four, and help his team break forward with his distribution.
Torreira has also injected a lot of steel in the middle of the park for Arsenal and he could play in a box to box role.
Attack
Emery might be tempted to use Mesut Ozil as his chief creator against the Red Devils. Ozil has had a forgettable season so far and will be desperate to make his presence felt if handed the opportunity to start.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette are likely to start up top. The duo have fared well together and more often than not, they have brought out the best in one another.
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