Predicted Arsenal XI to face Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League
Arsenal will host Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday as two fierce rivals go head-to-head with just four points separating them in the Premier League.
The Gunners continued their strong form of late with a thumping 5-1 win over Bournemouth at the Emirates in midweek. They are currently fourth in the Premier League while Tottenham are one place ahead in third.
Tottenham slipped to a 2-0 defeat away at Chelsea that all but extinguished their title hopes for another season.
Team news
Laurent Koscielny sustained a late injury in the Gunners’ 5-1 win against Bournemouth and is doubtful for the north London derby.
Elsewhere, Stefan Lichtsteiner could recover from the lower back injury and return back to the squad.
Probable Arsenal XI
Formation: 3-4-2-1
Manager: Unai Emery
Bernd Leno (GK)
The German is Emery’s first-choice in goal and he should start the north London derby on Saturday.
Sokratis Papastathopoulos (RCB)
Sokratis is a very strong defender and a nightmare for the opposition forwards. His presence gives the Gunners a lot of calmness and stability at the back.
Shkodran Mustafi (CB)
With Koscielny a doubt, Mustafi will be the natural choice to replace him in the starting XI.
Nacho Monreal (LCB)
Monreal did well in a three-man backline against Bournemouth and should retain his place in the team for Saturday’s derby.
Carl Jenkinson (RWB)
Grabbed his opportunity with both the hands against Bournemouth in midweek. That could see Jenkinson get the nod ahead of Maitland-Niles again at the weekend.
Sead Kolasinac (LWB)
A bundle of energy, Kolasinac thrives as a left wing-back because of the freedom he gets to make overlapping runs in behind the opposition backline.
Lucas Torreira (CM)
Torreira will sit deep, dictate the tempo of the game and break opposition’s attacks with his interception and tackling skills. He is a certain starter against Tottenham.
Granit Xhaka (CM)
Xhaka sat out the game against Bournemouth in midweek but is expected to return to central midfield ahead of Guendouzi.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan (LM)
The Armenian has been impressive since his return from injury and should start again on the left.
Mesut Ozil (RM)
The German will have to put in a big performance and get counted for the team at the Wembley. He is a certain starter at the weekend.
Alexandre Lacazette (ST)
It will be very tricky for Emery to select his main man up front but the Spanish manager could give Lacazette the nod ahead of Aubameyang against Tottenham.
