The international break is finally over and Premier League football is back. Arsenal and Mikel Arteta have a big task waiting for them as we face Leeds United away.
This is a very important game for the manager and the players as they have to redeem themselves and put things right following that shambolic humiliation at Aston Villa two weeks ago. Arteta will have all eyes on him as he is expected to make major changes in the system, tactics and structure of the team. Nothing but a win will be accepted. A draw or a lose will put him under heavy pressure.
A lot has happened during the international break and will impact the team selection. Thomas Partey is ruled out as he still didn’t recover from a minor injury he picked up during the game against Aston Villa. Elneny and Kolasinac tested positive for Covid they will not be involved. Saka and Tierney played a lot of minutes during the international break we will have to wait and see what the manager decide.
Predicted line up and formation
I would love us to switch to a back 4 in a 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1 formation. This will give us more strength in midfield and will give us a good balance in attack.
Leno is expected to continue in goal. I predict a back 4 of Bellerin, Luiz, Gabriel and Tierney. Arteta will probably prefer Holding but Luiz give as a better balance and is an attacking threat. In midfield I predict a midfield 3 of Willock, Xhaka and Ceballos. They are the only ones available. Willock deserve these minutes as he’s our only goal scoring midfielder. He will play in a more advance position. I feel like Saka played a lot of minutes and could feature from the bench. So I predict a front 3 of Nelson, Aubameyang and Pepe. Other players that could feature include Maitland-Niles, Willian, Nketiah and Lacazette.
I predict an Arsenal win. I feel like Arteta will switch back to his preferred playing formation to match his early Arsenal games. With Aubameyang playing through the middle supported by Pepe and Nelson. We also have the luxury of pulling Willian, Saka and Lacazette from the bench.
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