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:
3Forwards
A few months into the season, it finally looks like Eddie Nketiah might start getting some minutes on the pitch for the senior side.
The striker came on at the end of Arsenal’s win over Bournemouth, and he missed the u23 match on Monday too. With Danny Welbeck out, Alexandre Lacazette recovering from a knock and Unai Emery relying on Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to play against Tottenham and Manchester United, Nketiah is the only real choice here.
Tyreece John-Jules has travelled too, but Nketiah is certainly the preferred option at this stage, a couple of years senior to Tyreece.
Emile Smith Rowe was also left out by the u23s, and he looks set to continue his League Cup/Europa League run of appearances. Henrikh Mkhitaryan is one of few senior players to make the trip, so he’ll complete the front three.
Click ‘Next’ for the Full Starting XI