With the Gunners currently on a nice run of games in the Premier League, Saturday’s match at the Emirates Stadium v Manchester United takes on a whole new meaning.
Arsenal has moved back into the league’s top 10 once again, and hope springs eternal the club can continue this upward projectory in the weeks ahead.
Saturday will not be an easy assignment for Mikel Arteta and his squad. Manchester United have been in good form of late, despite their 2-1 loss to Sheffield United on Wednesday.
A few question marks surround the Gunners starting XI, as Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang will probably miss the match due to family issues, and Kieren Tierney could be a question mark as well, even though he has trained this week. This kid is a gamer, so I expect to see him on the pitch Saturday.
The other question mark is the status of newcomer Martin Odegaard. I don’t think Arteta would put him in the starting XI due to our current good chemistry, however, I do expect to see the 22-year-old late in the game.
So, with that said, here is my starting XI v the Red Devils this weekend…
[4-2-1-3]
Martinelli, Lacazette, Saka
Smith Rowe
Xhaka, Partey
Tierney, Gabriel, Holding, Bellerin
Leno
Projected final score:
ARSENAL 2 – Manchester United 1
One of my all-time Arsenal players, Olivier Giroud, returns to Emirates Stadium on Tuesday. This time as a player for the competition, Lille. Giroud scored 105 goals in 253 appearances for the Gunners.
Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard on Man City’s punishment. “In terms of how I feel, I potentially could be affected if you like, I wouldn’t want individual players to give stuff back, that wouldn’t be right. But the club, they have to be stripped.”
