Arsenal, last year’s runners-up in the UEFA Europa League competition, begin this year’s campaign with a trip to another side that went on a long run in last season’s tournament, Eintracht Frankfurt. The north London side has a host of injury and fitness concerns as they head to central Germany, so expect some squad rotation.
Even if they were at full fitness, manager Unai Emery would still sit a lot of his regulars, as we’re into fixture congestion time now. Let’s run through the Gunners team news for this one.
Defenders Hector Bellerin, Kieran Tierney and Konstantinos Mavropanos are all working their way back to match fitness, but this clash comes too soon for their selection.
Rob Holding is a little bit closer to featuring than that trio and he might be in contention for this one. This game could provide a good opportunity for Shkodran Mustafi, whose form has often been criticized, to be handed a started place.
Also, Emiliano Martinez has replaced Petr Cech as back-up goalkeeper, and thus he should get the gig in between the sticks for this cup clash.
Moving up on the field, Alexandre Lacazette is out until October, at least, after having bravely played through the pain of an ankle issue, and thus making the problem worse.
Arsenal FC Starting XI Prediction vs Eintracht Frankfurt
Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang Reiss Nelson Nicolas Pepe
Lucas Torreira Joe Willock Matteo Guendouzi
Sead Kolasinac, David Luiz, Calum Chambers, Ainsley Maitland-Niles
Emiliano Martinez
Arsenal vs Eintracht Frankfurt UEFA Europa League FYIs
Kickoff: Commerzbank Arena, Thursday Sept 19, 8pm
Prediction: Arsenal 3, Eintracht Frankfurt 0
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” regularly appears on WGN CLTV and co-hosts the “Let’s Get Weird, Sports” podcast on SB Nation.
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