Arsenal Predicted Lineup vs Real Madrid for April 8

Arsenal host Real Madrid in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals under the lights at the Emirates with kick off at 20:00 GMT. Here is our Arsenal predicted lineup vs Real Madrid.

Arsenal Predicted Lineup vs Real Madrid: Arteta Picks Gabriel Replacement

How Arsenal Have Lined-up Recently

In the Gunners 1-1 draw with Everton, David Raya started between the sticks.

There was a new look defence for Arsenal with the injury to Gabriel Magalhaes and with Jurrien Timber not quite ready to start. Instead, Ben White was given the nod at right-back, with William Saliba and Jakub Kiwior at centre-back and Myles Lewis-Skelly at left-back.

Mikel Merino slotted back into his more usual midfield position alongside Declan Rice and Jorginho.

Arsenal’s front three was also rotated, with Ethan Nwaneri on the right wing, Leandro Trossard in the centre and Raheem Sterling on the left.

Arsenal Recent Form and Tactics

In their last five games across all competitions, Arsenal have two wins and three draws.

The Gunners have only met Real Madrid in European competition on three previous occasions. The spoils are equal, with Arsenal winning 1-0 away at the Santiago Bernabeu in 2006 thanks to a Thierry Henry strike which was enough to see the Reds through the Round of 16 tie. The other leg was a 0-0 draw and most recently, Real Madrid beat Arsenal 3-2 on penalties in the International Champions Cup in July 2019.

Not much will change in terms of shape and system for Arteta’s side against Real Madrid. Sticking to the 4-3-3, Arsenal have been able to adapt to the different challenges of each competition and each team they face throughout the season.

But Real Madrid in the Champions League quarter-final do pose a substantial threat. One journalist raised this point, asking whether Arteta had a special plan to defend against the likes of Mbappe, Vinicius, Rodrygo and Bellingham.

Arteta replied: “Yeah, for sure. I mean, with individual qualities that they have, especially when you put them in certain situations, you know the danger that you are facing. But that’s the stages. I mean, it doesn’t get much bigger than that. That’s why consistently they’ve been doing, what they’ve been doing in this competition is that they can create those moments. And when it comes to the biggest stage, individual performance, players can decide the games, are critical for your success. Obviously something that we have to prevent for sure.”

A key part of preventing the array of Madrid attacking talent will be solving the Gabriel Magalhaes problem.

Arsenal Injuries and Absentees to Consider

Arteta confirmed there were no new injuries following the Everton game and that three stars returning from injury are still progressing well.

The manager explained why he subbed White at half-time: “We had to sub him at half-time because he hasn’t played much football, but he was fine after the game.”

But Arteta refused to allude to who might replace Magalhaes for the Madrid fixtures. He did say that he has “decided” on a replacement but remained tight-lipped when further prompted by the press.

Meanwhile, Bukayo Saka is “in a good place to be able to be used” after building up some minutes in his return from injury.

The same was said for Jurrien Timber who will “hopefully…be in the best condition to play the game” tonight.

Still out injured for this fixture are Takehiro Tomiyasu, Gabriel Jesus, Kai Havertz and Riccardo Calafiori.