BOREHAMWOOD, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 17: Pablo Mari of Arsenal FC looks on prior to the Premier League 2 match between Arsenal FC U23s and Chelsea FC U23s at Meadow Park on February 17, 2020 in Borehamwood, England. (Photo by James Chance/Getty Images)

Arsenal Predicted Lineup vs West Ham: Pablo Mari to start

Mar 5, 2020

Arsenal face West Ham United in the Premier League on Saturday, aiming to keep their recent winning run in the division going.

Arsenal's Spanish head coach Mikel Arteta is seen ahead of the English FA Cup fifth round football match between Portsmouth and Arsenal at Fratton Park stadium in Portsmouth, southern England, on March 2, 2020. — Arsenal’s Spanish head coach Mikel Arteta is seen ahead of the English FA Cup fifth round football match between Portsmouth and Arsenal at Fratton Park stadium in Portsmouth, southern England, on March 2, 2020. (Photo by ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP via Getty Images)

Arsenal won their last couple of league matches 4-0 against Newcastle and 3-2 against Everton, which is the positive side going into the weekend’s match against West Ham.

Of course, the team have since had to deal with the Europa League elimination to Olympiacos. They bounced back with an FA Cup victory over Portsmouth on Monday, but to have any chance qualifying for the Champions League they have to get league wins.

Let’s have a look at our Arsenal predicted lineup vs West Ham.

Goalkeeper

Dani Ceballos, David Luiz and Bernd Leno of Arsenal celebrate victory during the Premier League match between Arsenal FC and Everton FC at Emirates Stadium on February 23, 2020 in London, United Kingdom. — LONDON, ENGLAND – FEBRUARY 23: Dani Ceballos, David Luiz and Bernd Leno of Arsenal celebrate victory during the Premier League match between Arsenal FC and Everton FC at Emirates Stadium on February 23, 2020, in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)

Bernd Leno will start in goal, after Emi Martinez took the FA Cup spot on Monday. Neither goalkeeper is quite on top form right now, so hopefully, that changes from this weekend onwards.

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Defence

portsmouth fc v arsenal fc fa cup fifth round 1 — PORTSMOUTH, ENGLAND – MARCH 02: Pablo Mari of Arsenal warms up prior to the FA Cup Fifth Round match between Portsmouth FC and Arsenal FC at Fratton Park on March 02, 2020, in Portsmouth, England. (Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)

Pablo Mari made a positive debut against Portsmouth, and Mikel Arteta suggested he’s ready for another game this weekend. If that’s the case, we expect him to start alongside David Luiz, as the two can be so important to Arsenal in possession.

There are other options, from Shkodran Mustafi and Sokratis Papastathopoulos to Rob Holding, but none of them offer the same type of distribution, particularly as Mari is the only left-footed player of the bunch.

Bukayo Saka should stay in the team at left-back. Kieran Tierney is back, but probably only ready for a squad role on this occasion. Hector Bellerin can start on the other side after his rest on Monday.

Midfield

Granit Xhaka of Arsenal battles for possession with Ben Close of Portsmouth FC during the FA Cup Fifth Round match between Portsmouth FC and Arsenal FC at Fratton Park on March 02, 2020 in Portsmouth, England. — PORTSMOUTH, ENGLAND – MARCH 02: Granit Xhaka of Arsenal battles for possession with Ben Close of Portsmouth FC during the FA Cup Fifth Round match between Portsmouth FC and Arsenal FC at Fratton Park on March 02, 2020, in Portsmouth, England. (Photo by Dan Istitene/Getty Images)

Granit Xhaka and Mesut Özil are likely to start, as usual in the league games.

The usual question for the third spot is whether it will be Lucas Torreira or Dani Ceballos. Unfortunately, Torreira’s injury means there’s no choice on this occasion. Ceballos played well on Monday, so that’s not the end of the world.

Matteo Guendouzi and Joe Willock are both options as well, and they’ll probably make the bench.

Forwards

LONDON, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 09: Nicolas Pepe of Arsenal celebrates after scoring his sides second goal during the Premier League match between West Ham United and Arsenal FC at London Stadium on December 09, 2019 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images) — LONDON, ENGLAND – DECEMBER 09: Nicolas Pepe of Arsenal celebrates after scoring his sides second goal during the Premier League match between West Ham United and Arsenal FC at London Stadium on December 09, 2019, in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)

Eddie Nketiah started the last couple of league games, but the suspicion is that was only to allow Alexandre Lacazette to rest ahead of the Olympiacos matches. Now there’s no Europa League distraction, we predict Lacazette to come back in.

It’s harsh on Nketiah, who has three goals in four starts since his return from loan. It’s just hard to see Lacazette dropping out with no other competitions to give him games until the FA Cup returns.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has to start on the left, and Nicolas Pepe on the right. The two starred in the win over West Ham away from home, along with Gabriel Martinelli. Martinelli is taking a back seat to Aubameyang and Lacazette right now though.

Predicted Starting Lineup

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