Arsenal FC will be back in Premier League action on Monday night when they will be hosting Newcastle United. The North London club could only manage a point against Crystal Palace in midweek and that put a halt to their four match winning streak.
They will look to get it going again versus the Magpies on Monday and they’ll be feeling very confident having recently beaten them in the FA Cup.
There is some positive team fitnes news, as both Gabriel and Thomas Partey are in line to start the game. However, there is one injury setback, in centreback Pablo Mari. He’s likely to be out for a few games, after suffering a calf injury in training.
Let’s look at how this could affect the starting eleven.
We will be seeing the Gunners in a 4-2-3-1 formation with Bernd Leno in goal. Hector Bellerin will retain his place as the right back and Kieran Tierney is likely to be back after missing the last game. Gabriel will slot in the centre of defence and will be partnered with David Luiz. This will result in Rob Holding getting a rest which is a necessity, in order to keep the players fresh.
The big story in central midfield will be the return of Partey, who will be starting the game. He will be partnered with Granit Xhaka which will see Dani Ceballos drop to the bench.
These two, if they remain fit, will in all probability be the starting duo for quite some time.
So, it will be interesting to see how they are able to play together on Monday.
Nicolas Pepe will be back in the team to give the North Londoners a little more potency in attack. Alongside the Ivorian it will be the young dynamic duo of Bukayo Saka and Emile Smith-Rowe.
Alexander Lacazette will be the central striker and would want to do better than he did against Palace. He has been one of the better performers for Arsenal in the last few games and his skills will be needed once again.
The Gunners stumbled a bit during the week and will now look to ensure they get the three points this time around.
Arsenal Predicted Starting XI Against Newcastle United (4-2-3-1):
Bernd Leno, Hector Bellerin, David Luiz, Gabriel, Kieran Tierney, Thomas Partey, Granit Xhaka, Nicolas Pepe, Emile Smith-Rowe, Bukayo Saka, Alexandre Lacazette
