Mikel Arteta will be lining up his team against Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City for the first time since leaving the Etihad Stadium for the Emirates Stadium late last year.
The Premier League was postponed for three months amid the coronavirus pandemic but returns with two fixtures this evening.
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Pep Guardiola’s side trail champions-elect Liverpool by 25 points heading into the fixture against Arsenal tonight, with their Champions League place for next season now in the hands of the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
The top flight’s suspension back in March came just as Arsenal had begun to recapture form under their new manager, with four wins from their last five matches.
However, with the club currently languishing in the ninth, it will be an uphill struggle to secure an Europa League spot that could prove crucial to Arsenal’s capabilities in the transfer market later this summer.
ARSENAL TEAM NEWS
After such an extended spell without matches, Arteta has a near fully-fit squad to pick from for the trip to City, where he was Pep Guardiola’s number two for three years until December.
That presents him with a number of selection headaches, though Bernd Leno is an easy pick in goal.
Hector Bellerin should start over ageing centre-back Sokratis Papastathopoulos, who has deputised at right-back on occasion under Arteta.
While at left-back, the Spanish coach must decide between the fit-again Kieran Tierney or Sead Kolasinac who is also back to fitness.
However, Tierney is a better defender and if Arteta is worried about City’s attacking threats, it is surely the Scot who will start.
At centre-back, David Luiz is a surefire starter while Arteta must pick between Shkodran Mustafi, Socrates and the on-loan Pablo Mari to partner him.
Having played Luiz and Mari in both of their final two matches before the COVID-19-enforced break, the Brazilian and the Spaniard are the expected partnership – giving Arsenal’s back-line a left-footed centre-half to play out from the back with.
In midfield, Dani Ceballos – on loan from Real Madrid – should partner Granit Xhaka, with Lucas Torreira unlikely to come straight back into the line-up so soon.
The Uruguayan fractured his ankle against Portsmouth in March and while he looks in good shape, is not yet at the fitness level required to make a first-team return.
Ahead of the central midfield duo, Mesut Ozil will occupy the No 10 role having been re-established as a key first-team player under Arteta.
Either side, striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who has 17 league goals, will start on the left with Nicolas Pepe lining up on the right flank.
That leaves Arteta to pick between who will lead the line in Eddie Nketiah and Alexandre Lacazette.
The 38-year-old was full of praise for Nketiah this week with the academy graduate having scored a hat-trick in a behind-closed-doors friendly against Charlton this month.
Also, Lacazette scored an impressive effort in that match and having netted the winner against West Ham in their final game before the break, the Frenchman should be trusted as the No 9.
With an ability to make five substitutes in their remaining 10 matches of the current campaign, the likes of Nketiah, Gabriel Martinelli, Reiss Nelson and Matteo Guendouzi will hope for minutes from the bench.
Asked about the fitness of his first-team squad, Arteta said in a virtual press conference on Monday night: “So far everybody is okay.
“We’ll see how training goes tomorrow to pick the right team and the right squad.
“It’s going to be different with the number of substitutes we have on the bench and the number of changes we can make.
“We have to think about how we can do that.”
Arsenal predicted line-up vs Man City (4-2-3-1) Leno; Bellerin, Luiz, Mari, Tierney; Xhaka, Ceballos; Pepe, Ozil, Aubameyang; Lacazette.
MANCHESTER CITY TEAM NEWS
Leroy Sane will be available for City after recovering from a long-term injury.
However, whether he is to feature remains unclear due to his seemingly impending move to Bayern Munich this summer.
Guardiola has confirmed that David Silva will be staying on to see out the rest of the 2019/20 season with Manchester City.
The Spaniard’s contract was due to expire at the end of June, with Silva confirming this season will be his last at City after 10 wonderful years at the Club.
However, the Premier League have granted special dispensation for players whose contracts run out this month to be handed short-term extensions in the wake of the three-month delay to the campaign caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
And, speaking, at his pre-match press conference ahead of Wednesday’s return to Premier League action at home to Arsenal, Guardiola confirmed that Silva would be staying on at the Club until the end of the season.
“Yeah, David will stay until the end of season,” Guardiola confirmed.
Guardiola – who confirmed that Aymeric Laporte and Leroy Sane were both fully fit along with the rest of the squad – also spoke of his delight at last week’s appointment of Juanma Lillo as the Club’s new assistant coach.
Lillo boasts extensive experience from around the globe and Guardiola worked under him as a player when Lillo was manager at Mexican side Dorados de Sinaloa in 2006.
And the boss said he believed the Spaniard would prove to be a key addition to the City backroom staff.
Man City predicted line-up against Arsenal: (4-3-3) Ederson, Walker, Otamendi, Laporte, Mendy, Rodri, De Bruyne, Gundoga, Mahrez, Sterling, Aguero.
