Arsenal face FC Vorskla in the Europa League on Thursday, with the chance to top the group with a win, but an upcoming North London derby to keep in mind.
Travelling to freezing conditions in Ukraine, Unai Emery has to decide which players it’s worth risking before the game against Tottenham Hotspur three days later.
Winning the game would finish any lingering Sporting CP hopes of finishing above the Gunners, but Arsenal will have another chance to get a win against Qarabag at the Emirates Stadium later in the month. This game against Vorskla isn’t anywhere near as crucial as the Tottenham match, or the Manchester United game next week.
Let’s have a look at how we predict Unai Emery will set his team up:
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Mohamed Elneny and Matteo Guendouzi haven’t had too many Premier League starts recently, so both of them should be keen to get another chance in the Europa League on Thursday. The same goes for Aaron Ramsey, who has been relegated to a bench role in the league for a while now.
However, as mentioned in the section on defenders, Elneny will probably be needed at centre-back. Joe Willock will therefore come into the team alongside Guendouzi. Willock missed out on the u23 match on Monday and he’s been in great form this season, so he deserves a chance.
Granit Xhaka, Lucas Torreira and Mesut Özil are too important to risk picking up an injury or even a bad cold from the freezing conditions, so they remained at home.
Click ‘Next’ for Forwards and the Full Starting XI