The Premier League returns to the Emirates Stadium on Monday, as Arsenal face Newcastle United in their quest for Champions League qualification.
The Gunners may not have any big six matches remaining in the final eight games of the campaign, but that doesn’t stop all of them being crucial games if Unai Emery wants to finish in the top four. Just a few points separate third and sixth, so failing to take all three points from this kind of clash could be fatal.
After a number of injury concerns over the international break, pretty much everyone appears to have recovered in time for this match. However, Lucas Torreira will be missing through suspension and if Sokratis Papastathopoulos starts, he’ll have to avoid a yellow card or face a two-game ban.
Let’s have a look at our predicted lineup for the clash.
Midfield
This area of the field is the most unpredictable, thanks to injuries. Both Granit Xhaka and Aaron Ramsey could miss out, after knocks over the international break, but Emery seemed optimistic about both of them. With Lucas Torreira suspended, Matteo Guendouzi is the only real alternative, bar Mohamed Elneny making a very rare start.
Ahead of the sitting pair, Mesut Özil should keep his place. He’s in good form and in this formation there are no strong alternatives. The likes of Alex Iwobi, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Denis Suarez are all better in the wide positions, so they’re more likely to come on if Arsenal need to change the game with a different approach.