Arsenal will have the chance to reach the summit of the Premier League table when they take on West Brom in a thrilling encounter at the Hawthorns on Saturday afternoon.
Manchester City, who are currently top courtesy of their superior goal difference, won’t play until late in the day and face a tough challenge against a resilient Liverpool side giving the North London club a great chance of establishing some gap to the Citizens.
The Gunners have pretty mediocre in the weeks prior to the International break, which included a dull draw in the North London club where they were lucky to grab a point and a thrashing at the hands of Bayern Munich over in Germany. But Arsenal’s over all form this season has been very good and it won’t be surprising if they come out flying, but it is highly unlikely as it is always when the players return from their National duties.
INJURY NEWS
Bellerin is back in contention after recovering from a slight groin injury and is likely to get straight into the starting line-up. However it’s still not clear where he will start as there is a good chance that he might start at right wing in place of Campbell.
The likes of Theo Walcott, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Aaron Ramsey are all still unavailable, with Campbell being the likely candidate to take that place. There have been reports that Sanchez might not start, but it is likely that he will also be utilised on the left once again, despite the fact that he started and played two full games for Chile during the week.
Coming to the formations Wenger is likely to start with the center-back pair of Mertesacker and Koscielny, despite some questions surrounding Koscielny’s readiness following the Paris terror attacks. Monreal will continue on the left with Coquelin and Cazorla continuing their successful partnership in the center of the pitch.
Giroud will continue to lead the line as he has been doing since Walcott’s injury and the French striker will be surrounded by Campbell and Sanchez on the wings. Ozil has been in wonderful form this season and will continue in his No.9 role behind the striker.
UPDATE: Team news has just come in and it’s Gibbs who replaces Campbell
CONFIRMED LINE-UP
Starting Line-up(4-2-3-1): Cech, Bellerin, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Monreal; Coquelin, Cazorla, Kieran Gibbs, Ozil, Sanchez; Giroud.
Bench: Ospina, Debuchy, Gabriel, Arteta, Campbell, Flamini, Adelaide
COYG!
