Following their 1-1 draw with Manchester United at the Old Trafford, Arsenal will turn their attention to the Europa League when they host Standard Liege on Thursday.
Arsenal made a strong start to their Europa League campaign by securing a commendable 3-0 win away from home against Eintracht Frankfurt last month, and will be looking to build on to their fantastic start.
With the Gunners set to face Bournemouth on Sunday, Unai Emery is likely to rotate his squad for the upcoming clash. The Belgian outfit, however, are no pushovers and an exciting game is on the cards.
Arsenal Team News
Alexandre Lacazette remains sidelined owing to his ankle injury but is expected to be available later this month.
Emile Smith Rowe is also likely to be unavailable after suffering a concussion last week against Nottingham Forest, and will not make the Arsenal lineup.
Predicted Arsenal Lineup vs Standard Liege
Defence
Bernd Leno is likely to be rested, so Emiliano Martinez could take his place between the sticks. Martinez has done well in the few opportunities he has been handed.
Shkodran Mustafi and Rob Holding could start in the heart of the backline, while the duo of Kieran Tierney and Hector Bellerin could operate as the full-backs in the Arsenal lineup.
If Bellerin makes the starting lineup, it will be his first start since his anterior cruciate ligament injury back in January. Arsenal’s defence cannot be complacent as Liege side have been in a decent form of late.
Midfield
Lucas Torreira could be summoned to start in the middle of the park alongside Joe Willock. The latter is an exciting talent, but need to make his chances count in these sort of games.
Former German international Mesut Ozil might get the opportunity to start as the no. 10. Ozil has been a shadow of his former self, and needs to start showing his quality soon.
Attack
Summer signing Gabriel Martinelli started upfront and bagged a brace against Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup third-round fixture last week. Therefore, Emery might be tempted to go with him once again.
Nicolas Pepe and Bukayo Saka are expected to start on the wings to complete Arsenal’s attack.
Pepe had a disappointing outing against Manchester United last Monday, and will hope to put in a more assertive performance come Thursday.
