Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has a near full squad at his disposal when the Gunners take on Southampton at St Mary’s on Sunday afternoon. The north London giants broke their 14-year wait for an away league win over the south Coast outfit in May, and they will now seek to extend this run to keep up in the top-four hunt.
Formation: 3-4-2-1
Lineup:
Petr Cech has been ever-present for the Gunners in the Premier League, featuring in all 15 outings. The veteran is expected to start between the sticks versus the Saints.
Shkodran Mustafi has been ruled out for the encounter, and we could potentially see Per Mertesacker feature in central defence alongside Laurent Koscielny and Nacho Monreal.
Hector Bellerin and Sead Kolasinac have remained unchanged since September, and they are likely to keep their positions at right and left wing-back respectively.
Jack Wilshere put in a class performance in the 6-0 thumping of BATE Borisov, but unfortunately, he may have to stick to the bench with Wenger likely to continue with the combination of Granit Xhaka and Aaron Ramsey in central midfield.
Further forward, Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez are likely to start from the off once more, having played no part in the Europa League game in midweek. Their contractual situation remains a topic of discussion, although the former could yet commit his future to the club.
Alexandre Lacazette notched his eighth goal of the Premier League campaign in the 3-1 defeat to Manchester United, but he could have quite easily scored a brace barring the efforts of De Gea.
The Frenchman is pretty much certain to start ahead of both Olivier Giroud and Danny Welbeck, who took part in the BATE Borisov game, which was more or less a formality.
