Arsenal are ready to battle London rivals Chelsea at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday, May 2 in the Premier League. Last Word on Sports tries to put together an Arsenal Predicted Lineup as the Gunners aim to bounce back from the loss to Manchester City and end a four-game winless run.
Arsenal Predicted Lineup vs Chelsea
📸| Arsenal training at London Colney ahead of #ARSCHE on Tuesday! #afc pic.twitter.com/55IsCHpkiw
— Arsenal Buzz (@ArsenalBuzzCom) May 1, 2023
How Arsenal Have Lined-Up Recently
The Gunners have lost their form at the worst time possible and are no longer the favourites to win the Premier League title. However, Mikel Arteta is not going to lose confidence in his players this easily and should continue playing the ones who have taken them so far this season – including a majority of those who were embarrassed at the Etihad Stadium recently.
The backline of Aaron Ramsdale, Ben White, Rob Holding, Gabriel Magalhaes, and Oleksandr Zinchenko is still their best option right now Bukayo Saka is undroppable because of his amazing form this season, while captain Martin Odegaard remains their biggest creative threat. However, Thomas Partey could be benched in this and replaced with January signing Jorginho – while another winter arrival in Leandro Trossard is in line to start ahead of Gabriel Martinelli.
Arsenal Recent Form and Tactics
The North London side have experienced a sharp drop in form over the last month or so, having just won one of their last five games in the Premier League – with their last win coming on April Fool’s Day against Leeds United.
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Arteta will be keen on getting back to winning ways against a struggling Chelsea side, who are yet to win a game since Frank Lampard was appointed as interim manager. The Spaniard will stick to his 4-2-3-1 formation for this game, giving the front four all the freedom needed to break down their rivals. Arsenal’s playing style involves them quickly building up moves from the back, while often using their wide players to dribble into the final third before finding that killer pass.
The Gunners need to be incisive against the Blues to break them down, which will probably require the midfielders to play higher up to create chances and unlock the opponents’ backline too. Arsenal also need to be clinical on the counter-attack, where they’re anyhow a danger because of the pace and ruthlessness of their young team.
Arsenal Key Players
Saka might be coming off an underwhelming outing against Manchester City, but he remains a huge threat this season because of his impressive form. The Englishman will aim to torment the opposition defenders with his brilliant dribbling ability and pace, as he looks to skip past bodies with ease and set up big chances in the final third.
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Gabriel Jesus doesn’t need too many chances to score, but needs to be more involved with the link-up play and in the ideal positions in the box to fool the Chelsea backline. Trossard’s impressive off-the-ball movement and clinical final product make him an unpredictable threat, as he’ll use that unpredictability to keep Lampard’s team guessing. Odegaard is the heart of Arsenal’s attacking moves, as the captain aims to use his creativity to play killer final third balls to set up big chances against the Blues.
Arsenal Injuries to Consider
William Saliba is still not back to full fitness after sustaining an injury against Sporting Lisbon in March, which dealt a huge blow to his side’s Premier League ambitions. Takehiro Tomiyasu and Mohamed Elneny are out for the rest of the season.
Arsenal Predicted Lineup
Aaron Ramsdale, Ben White, Rob Holding, Gabriel Magalhaes, Oleksandr Zinchenko, Jorginho, Granit Xhaka, Martin Odegaard, Bukayo Saka, Leandro Trossard, Gabriel Jesus
