Premier League 2018-19: How Arsenal could line up against West Ham this weekend

West Ham travel to the Emirates this Saturday for a game that will see the two London clubs fighting for their first Premier League points. Unai Emery's Arsenal sit at the bottom half of the table after two consecutive losses to Manchester City and Chelsea while Manuel Pellegrini's West Ham also stand with zero points after a 4-0 defeat to Liverpool and a 1-2 home loss to Bournemouth.

Clearly, the Arsenal squad have not adapted to Emery's tactics just yet. Emery himself is yet to figure out ways in which he can deploy four of his best players - Alexandre Lacazette, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Mesut Ozil and Henrikh Mkhitaryan - on the pitch at the same time. It looks like it will take a fair amount of time until Emery figures out what works for the players and what doesn't.

While Arsenal will always be judged for their games against the 'Big Six', Emery has an important job on his hands. It still is a London derby. It still is a game. And he needs those three points if he is to prove that the first two games are not reflective of the entire season. Let's look into the possible starting XI for Arsenal ahead of the game.

Goalkeeper: Petr Cech

While a lot of fans would love to see new signing Bernd Leno start for the team soon, it's likely that Emery will start Petr Cech once again, giving the keeper yet another chance to adapt to the new challenge.

Defence: Bellerin/Lichtsteiner, Sokratis, Mustafi, Monreal

The bigger question now is Stephan Lichtsteiner. The former Juventus man is yet to make a start for the Gunners side and considering Bellerin's performances not only in the game against Chelsea but in previous games last season, a start for Lichtsteiner shouldn't seem far-fetched. Nacho Monreal will probably stay in the starting line-up as left-back, being the most reliable man for the job in the team at the moment as Sead Kolanisac and Maitland-Niles remain injured.

The center-back is the most settled and predictable position in the squad at the moment with Emery heavily relying on the pairing of Shkodran Mustafi and Sokratis Papastathopoulos.

Arsenal FC v Manchester City - Premier League

Midfield: Guendouzi, Torreira, Mkhitaryan, Iwobi, Ramsey

Assuming Emery will field a 4-2-3-1 as he has done before, we expect to see Matteo Guendouzi, the new signing, who has been impressive in the middle of the park so far despite having made some key mistakes. Such mistakes are expected from a 19-year-old midfielder who has just begun starting for a side in the top tier of English football. Emery seems to know this and it looks like Guendouzi will stay in the squad at least in the foreseeable future.

Alongside Guendouzi, we would love to see summer signing Lucas Torreira in the starting line-up. That it is time for him to start is an understatement. Granit Xhaka was outshone by 19-year-old Guendouzi and his unconvincing and hapless performances so far don't help his case with the manager.

Guendouzi went on to play a full 90 minutes in the games against Chelsea and Manchester City while Xhaka was substituted twice. His place in the starting eleven is under threat and rightly so. A place for Torreira alongside Guendouzi is an exciting prospect but whether Emery thinks the same is yet to be seen.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Alex Iwobi are probable starters at the wing for Emery given their superb performances at the London derby last weekend. This leaves us with Mesut Ozil who was unimpressive in the same game. Despite being a crucial player in the squad with his creative play, Ozil's lackadaisical attitude in certain games is out of tune with the rest of the players. This is also the attitude that could easily get him replaced by a more dynamic Aaron Ramsey.

Attack: Aubameyang

Arsenal v Chelsea - International Champions Cup 2018

In the London derby last weekend, it's safe to say Arsenal missed a good number of chances that could have given them three to four goals if converted. Despite Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang having missed two of those opportunities, Emery is likely to persist with the former Borussia Dortmund man.

Alexandre Lacazette has impressed so far this season but with a fit Aubameyang in the team, regular rotation at the front seems unlikely, at least for the moment.

Putting away those clear chances will go a long away for Arsenal, considering it's games like these that will be crucial to Emery taking the team back to the top four.

Edited by Arvind Sriram