Having spent a decent amount of money in the transfer window before the start of the season, Arsene Wenger was expected to make Arsenal fight for the Premier League title this season but Arsenal are now at quite a fair distance away from Chelsea at the top of the table and sadly, it is only still February. A number of star players have underperformed since the turn of the year while a few injuries have also taken its toll on the team, making sure that Wenger could not settle on to a starting XI that can constantly win him games. But with the business end of the season coming up, Wenger will want to stick with a lineup that can compete with the best. So what is Arsenal’s best lineup? Who makes the starting XI when every player in the squad is fit?
The System:
Wenger does not like to experiment too much with his system and loves to play a 4-man backline with a couple of midfielders tucked just in front of them. He plays a lone striker upfront, who is helped with two players on either side of the striker and a playmaker just in behind. The front three are responsible for scoring goals and the playmaker supplies them. This might look easy on the eye while reading, but in reality, the kind of strikers that Arsenal have, they can play different styles of football with different combinations of players.
When Alexis plays upfront, he plays little deeper and tries to exploit the space between the opposition defence and their midfield. When Giroud is deployed upfront, he plays as a target man, who brings the No.10 and also the central midfielder into play, thus making the system a more fluid one and thus producing a lot of link-up plays between players, that makes Arsenal’s football so beautiful to watch.
Goalkeeper:
Petr Cech will remain the first choice shot-stopper for the club as he, till date, remains one of the best players in his position not just in England but all over the world.
Defence:
Hector Bellerin at right-back and Laurent Koscielny at center back are not too hard a choice for the manager at the back. German defensive duo Per Mertesacker and Shkodran Mustafi will fight for one place with the latter preferred based on his current form.
Nacho Monreal will remain the first choice left-back at least for this year and will ably be replaced by Keiran Gibbs when needed. Rob Holding and Gabriel Paulista can come in when needed, making the Arsenal defense a decent one.
Midfield:
One of the biggest problems for Wenger is his midfield combination. Francis Coquelin is currently the first choice midfielder for Wenger, to start in front of the defense and he has been partnered by a number of players this season. Santi Cazorla, who is currently out injured is expected to be the first choice alongside Coquelin when he is fit and with Wenger always insisting that Santi and Francis complement each other, it surely is an easy choice to make.
Granit Xhaka has his disciplinary issues while Aaron Ramsey and Mohamed Elneny will still have to prove themselves consistently to get to start games regularly for Arsene Wenger.
Attack:
Wenger has used Alexis Sanchez as the striker for most of the season, as the likes of Giroud and Welbeck were out injured. And though the duo are back fit, Arsenal are at their strongest when the Chilean plays in a forward role. Theo Walcott on the right wing and Mesut Ozil in a number 10 position will make Arsenal’s attack one of the strongest in the country.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Lucas Perez, and Alex Iwobi are expected to fight for the place on the left-flank and on current form, Iwobi should walk into the first team for Wenger. Welbeck and Giroud can come on from the bench to add a different dimension to the attack when needed.
What do you reckon? What would be your choice for the strongest Arsenal XI when every player is fit?
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