Arsenal are under a lot of pressure owing to their lack of activity in the transfer window and the fans have been vocal about the club’s rapidly diminishing intent.
Nonetheless, with less than a month for the commencement of the new Premier League campaign, the north London based outfit are due to face Colorado Rapids on Tuesday in their first pre-season friendly.
Unai Emery must try to make good use of the pre-season fixtures to acquaint himself with the loopholes in his squad and try to fix the glaring issues before the window closes.
Arsenal Team News
Club captain Laurent Koscielny refused to travel to the United States with the club after he went on strike and the Gunners are expected to be bereft of his services. He is set to train with the Under-23s until a solution is found.
Meanwhile, Krystian Bielik was not included in the pre-season squad as Emery has reportedly made it clear that the young gun is not in his plans. Apparently, he is a subject of interest for Italian giants AC Milan.
PREDICTED ARSENAL LINE-UP TO FACE COLORADO RAPIDS (4-2-3-1)
Goalkeeper
Petr Cech announced his retirement at the end of the previous campaign and David Ospina has completed his permanent move to Napoli. Impliedly, Bernd Leno is set to be Arsenal’s first-choice custodian in the upcoming season.
The pre-season games could be a good opportunity for Emery to assess other goalkeepers he has at his disposal though. Therefore, Emiliano Martinez could get the nod to start between the sticks against Colorado Rapids.
Defence
Calum Chambers has returned from his successful loan spell at Fulham where he won the Player of the Season award for the Cottagers. He is capable enough of plying his trade as a central defender and Emery could use him this week in the aforesaid position.
Shkodran Mustafi could find himself being placed alongside Chambers at the heart of Arsenal’s defence. To further assess his options, Emery could be tempted to use Carl Jenkinson and Nacho Monreal as the full-backs with the former facing a fight to be relevant at the Emirates beyond the summer.
Midfield
Mesut Ozil could be given the nod to start as the no.10. He needs to regain his confidence and get back to his best at any cost in the upcoming season. Meanwhile, Joe Willock and Granit Xhaka are expected to start in the central midfield.
Attack
It will be interesting to see how new signing Gabriel Martinelli fares on the left-wing. It will be a good opportunity for him to work on his understanding with his new teammates. Meanwhile, Henrikh Mkhitaryan could operate from the other flank.
Upfront, Frenchman Alexandre Lacazette could get his first work out of the season. The 28-year-old was an instrumental player for Arsenal last season and the Gunners will hope he starts from where he left off.
