They say title challengers almost invariably find a way to win football matches. Arsenal did just that last weekend as they displayed character to dig deep to seal a victory in injury time. No wonder Arsene Wenger’s side are one of the favourites to clinch their first league title in over a decade. But, the North Londoners are once again looking at a mounting injury list as they prepare for a tricky trip to Goodison Park before the second leg of their Champions League qualifier against Besiktas in midweek.
Aside from the injury sapping trip to Turkey, Mikel Arteta’s injury will deal a major blow to Arsenal’s hopes of maintaining their unbeaten start to the campaign. Arteta was taken off after a challenge by Demba Ba and is said to be out till the international break with an ankle problem. Plus, Kieran Gibbs’s hamstring problem will rule him out of action for at least two weeks, meaning Arsene Wenger will have one or two selection headaches to deal with.
Let’s take a look at the predicted Arsenal line-up:
GK:
Wozceich Szczesny will retain his place as the first choice goalkeeper, while new signing David Ospina continues to recover from a thigh problem.
Defence:
Mathieu Debuchy is undoubtedly the first choice at right back, and will look to continue his bright start in an Arsenal shirt. Nacho Monreal looks a touch suspect defensively, but Wenger has no options in Kieran Gibbs’s absence. Laurent Koscielny should play if he doesn’t suffer any recurrence of the Achilles problem he suffered last week. And Arsene Wenger will be pleased to be able to welcome back World Cup winner Per Mertesacker into his team, but the German is unlikely to feature in the starting lineup and maybe brought on in the second half, while Calum Chambers is set to continue at the heart of the defence on the back of some impressive performances as a Gunner.
Click on the next button to continue