Arsenal return to Premier League action this weekend with a game against Stoke City at the Emirates Stadium. The Gunners have a key Europa League quarter-final tie against CSKA Moscow on Thursday night, but this may influence the squad selection for the Potters game.
Formation: 4-2-3-1
Lineup:
Petr Cech managed to achieve his 200th Premier League clean sheet against Watford earlier this month, and he now has the opportunity to keep another shutout versus Stoke. The 35-year-old is a certain candidate to start with David Ospina being preferred for the European duties.
In defence, Hector Bellerin and Nacho Monreal are likely to return to the right-back and left-back positions respectively after a decent gap, where one or the other succumbed to minor injuries. Shkodran Mustafi is a strong contender to start at centre-back and we are fancying Rob Holding to feature alongside him, to keep Laurent Koscielny fresh for the European outing.
Likewise in midfield, both Jack Wilshere and Aaron Ramsey may start off the bench with a view to the CSKA game, and hence we are backing the ever-present Granit Xhaka to partner Mohamed Elneny, who will be buoyed after penning a new long-term contract with the club.
Further forward, Arsenal are likely to go with their first-choice picks. Alex Iwobi and Henrikh Mkhitaryan will probably slot into the left and right side of the attack with Mesut Ozil in the number 10 role whilst Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang will certainly lead the line, given he is Cup-tied for the Europa League this term.
