New Signings To Start: Likely Arsenal Line To Play Against Chivas de Guadalajara

Arsenal will complete their preseason tour to America when they take on Mexican side Chivas de Guadalajara on Monday. Gunners registered a 2-1 victory in their last match against MLS All-Stars, while Guadalajara has already started their domestic season, therefore we shouldn’t expect them to put too much into a friendly. This will be the perfect chance for Arsene Wenger to try out some other combination and tactics before the season kicks off on August 14^th against Liverpool at the Emirates. After this match, Arsenal will play Vikings in Stavanger, following which they will take on Premier League rivals Manchester City in Gothenburg on August 3^rd.

Arsenal will be without the likes of Mesut Ozil, Olivier Giroud and Alexis Sanchez, who have been extended break following their participation in the European Championship and Copa America. Mertesacker and Paulista have also been left home as the duo is out injured. Wenger is currently looking for a world-class striker to complement Giroud and take some of the pressure off his back but his focus will surely now turn to getting a central defender since Mertesacker is expected to be out until early next year. Here we predict Wenger’s starting XI to face Guadalajara.

Goalkeeper: Petr Cech

Cech started in goal against the All Stars and enjoyed a pretty comfortable afternoon except when his former teammate Drogba put the ball in the back of the net. When fit, he is the number one choice keeper at Emirates and will definitely start on Monday as he looks to get back to proper match sharpness.

Defender: Hector Bellerin, Rob Holding, Chambers and Gibbs

Wenger might be tempted to try a different a combination in this match, as he looks to find a solution to his team’s defensive performance. Bellerin who started the last match on the bench might start this one ahead of Debuchy. Gibbs will continue as the left-back. New signing Holding is likely to continue in the centre of the defensive line after a pretty solid performance in the last match. He will be accompanied by Calum Chambers, who is currently the most senior defender Arsenal have in America.

Midfielder: Granit Xhaka, Elneny, Alex Iwobi, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Joel Campbell

Xhaka is going to be an important for Arsene Wenger this season, following his excellent performance in the European Championship with the Swiss national team. He is likely to start the match on Monday alongside Elneny. Wilshere wasn’t particularly impressive in the match against the All Stars and might be dropped to the bench in favor of Alex Iwobi. Chamberlain was the standout player for Arsenal in the last match and should keep his place in the team. Similarly, goalscorer Campbell is likely to maintain his place in the starting XI.

Striker: Chuba Akpom

By the end of the match against the All Stars, Theo Walcott looked frustrated following a string of missed opportunities to get on the scoresheet. Therefore Wenger might be tempted to start with the match-winner Akpom for this one after he came off the bench in the last match.