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Arsenal travel to Wales for a tough tie against Swansea, this Saturday. The Gunners, right now, sit at the top of the pack with 12 points whereas the Welsh side is languishing at 7 points. It will be interesting to see how Arsène Wenger lines up his side against the Swans with so many injuries to first team players, making it a headache for the gaffer to chose his first eleven.
In goal, it will be no surprise to see Arsenal number 1, Wojciech Szczesny take his place back after a break during midweek. The Pole has shown improvement between the sticks this season but has only managed one clean sheet this campaign.
The back four would see the return of Laurent Koscielny, Bacary Sagna and Kieren Gibbs to the line up alongside Per Mertesacker. Since the German played a full 120 minutes against West Brom in the Capital One Cup, and hasn’t got a break for quite a while, the club skipper, Vermaelen might be played alongside Koscielny. But a French-German partnership in the heart of Arsenal’s defence can’t be ruled out with both of them being quite solid at the back, as a result, keeping Thomas Vermaelen still on the bench.
Expect a fit Mikel Arteta to challenge Mathieu Flamini for a starting spot in midfield on Saturday. The Spaniard was a regular in the Arsenal side last season but solid displays by the Frenchman might still see him take his place on the bench. Along with him, the in-form Aaron Ramsey will take his place in Arsenal’s engine room. Ahead of the Welshman, Mesut Özil will look to thread in more passes to the strike force and build up his already impressive assist tally.
Upfront, bringing back Olivier Giroud would really be a no brainer. Nicklas Bendtner featured during the tie against West Brom in the Capital One Cup giving Giroud a much needed rest. The Dane did have an impressive performance but he would only see his name on the substitutes list with Arsenal’s number 12 being in fine form since the start of the season.
Along with the Frenchman, Jack Wilshere would be deployed on the left flank as he has featured in his last two games due to the injury crisis. Choosing the person to play to the right of Giroud will prove to be tricky for Wenger as Theo Walcott was ruled out for at least three weeks.
The two likely contenders for a starting spot will be Ryo Myachi and Serge Gnabry but expect the German to be preferred over the Japanese international due to his better link up and direct play. Wenger also said in his recent Press Conference that ‘Gnabry is now ready for first team football’ which indirectly tells us that the German will be starting on the right hand side of Arsenal’s strike force.
Overall, Arsène Wenger doesn’t have many options but expect a good and strong starting eleven come this Saturday.
Match on the 28th of September, kick off – 5:30pm GMT, 10:00pm IST
