Arsenal play Burnley at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday at 3pm with the Gunners aiming to get back to winning ways in the Premier League after their controversial 1-0 defeat to Newcastle last time out. Last Word on Football predicts how Mikel Arteta’s side will lineup.
Arsenal Predicted Lineup
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How Arsenal Have Lined Up Recently
The North London side’s last outing was a comfortable 2-0 victory over Sevilla to all but secure their place in the Champions League knockout rounds. The game would have come as a relief for goalkeeper David Raya who kept his clean sheet with almost nothing to do moving the headlines away from his starting position in the side for the first time since his arrival.
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Defensively, Arsenal went strong with Ben White, William Saliba, and Gabriel starting alongside Takehiro Tomiyasu with the versatile Japanese international operating at left-back. The out-of-form Spanish side caused the back four little danger and failed to mount any effective press on the possession-based Arsenal defenders.
With injuries to club captain Martin Odergaard, as well as Emile Smith-Rowe and Thomas Partey, Arteta was limited in his options in midfield. Declan Rice played just in front of Jorginho with summer signing Kai Havertz operating as the right eight.
With both number nines out injured, the Gunners operated with Leandro Trossard down the middle with Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka on the wings. The front three looked sleek and all caused endless issues for Sevilla with Martinelli the pick of the bunch.
Changes We May See
At the back, Oleksandr Zinchenko may come in to replace Tomiyasu. The Ukrainian could be important in possession when breaking down Vincent Kompany’s side as well as being able to press high against a Burnley side dedicated to playing out from the back.
Mikel Arteta would have been hoping to have his club captain back from injury but the Norwegian looks set to miss out from the start against Burnley and could even be withheld from attending international duty. 31-year-old Jorginho has played a lot of minutes of late and the Brazilian will likely keep his place owing to his strong performances and the injury crisis in his position.
The medical team at London Colney will continue to assess England duo Eddie Nketiah and Saka before the match on Saturday. Saka could not finish the match against Sevilla midweek and was unable to train on Thursday while Nketiah did not feature at all on Wednesday night. On a more positive front Arteta will be delighted with the start to the season the ‘very intelligent’ Trossard has made with the Belgium international consistently chipping in with goals and assists.
Arsenal’s Recent Form and Tactics
The Gunners have failed to consistently string a run of results together so far this season yet still find themselves top of their Champions League group and only three points behind Manchester City who they have already beaten this season.
It is in the attacking third where they have fallen short while the back four have been particularly hard to penetrate. For Arsenal to get three points on Saturday, the Emirates crowd will be looking for the same fluidity and creativity they saw in the impressive win against Sevilla.
Injuries To Consider
The Arsenal boss has suggested in his pre-match press conference that there is a host of players looking to make the squad on Saturday including Odergaard, Saka, Nketiah, and Gabriel Jesus. Confirmed absent are Jurrien Timber, Smith-Rowe, and Thomas Partey with the latter not expected back until the new year putting his AFCON participation in doubt.
Arsenal Predicted Lineup
Raya, White, Saliba, Gabriel, Zinchenko, Rice, Jorginho, Havertz, Saka, Trossard, Martinelli.
