Arsenal return to Europa League action on Thursday night where they take on Serbian champions Red Star Belgrade. The Gunners secured a hard-fought 1-0 win in the reverse fixture last month, and this sees them sit comfortably at the top of Group H with nine points. Both Belgrade and BATE Borisov are tied on four points for the campaign, and a win would be sufficient to reach the knockout phase, should BATE drop points to Koln.
Formation: 3-4-2-1
Lineup:
Gunners number one Petr Cech is likely to continue between the sticks with David Ospina still recovering from his groin injury. The defence could see a minor change from the previous European outing with Calum Chambers partnering the likes of Rob Holding and Mathieu Debuchy at the heart of the backline.
Wenger has gone with Reiss Nelson and Ainsley Maitland-Niles in the right wing-back and left wing-back positions respectively, and the young pairing are likely to keep their places.
Onto the midfield, Mohamed Elneny could get another game in Europe after his central defensive role last time around. The Egypt international will most likely partner Francis Coquelin, who has been sparingly used since his hamstring injury.
Jack Wilshere is pretty much certain of a starting role following his early-season promise, and the 25-year-old could feature in the attacking midfield alongside Theo Walcott, thus allowing Olivier Giroud to the lead the line.
Prediction:
Arsenal had a tough trip to Belgrade last month, where they beat the hosts due to a standout showing from Cech – coupled with a sublime winner from Giroud. Expect a more solid performance at the Emirates.
Arsenal 2-0 Red Star Belgrade
