GK: Wojciech Szczesny
Whilst he may not be in his best form so far this season, the Polish goalkeeper is our number one for a reason and there is no reason why he should be dropped this weekend. Most of the problems are due to the back line in front of him, not the player himself, so hopefully once that problem is fixed we’ll start seeing Szczesny at his best.
RB: Calum Chambers
Last week I would’ve been inclined to put Chambers in the centre of defence instead of Nacho Monreal. However, Chambers’ performances going forward in recent games have been superb. He was the deciding factor in the victory against Burnley last weekend and also performed admirably in the heartbreaking draw with Anderlecht.
CB: Per Mertsaker & Nacho Monreal
Unfortunately as much as we’d like to, the back four can’t really be changed. The only possible alteration would be to bring in Hector Bellerin on the right and push Chambers into the middle at the expense of Monreal. However, Chambers needs to play on the right and to be fair Monreal has been performing decently- excluding the penalty he clumsily gave away at the weekend.
Alongside him will be World Cup winner Per Mertesaker, who really needs to up his performances. If he doesn’t then he may lose his starting place when we sign a new defender in January.
LB: Kieran Gibbs
An early season without long-term injury problems is working in Gibbs’ favour as he has improved this season, displaying his talents to the best of his ability. Unfortunately he is part of a week defence this season but the problems are in the middle, rather than on the flanks.
DM: Aaron Ramsey & Jack Wilshere
With Mikel Arteta absent due to injury, someone has to come into the line-up and for me that man is Jack Wilshere- and under no circumstances should it be Mathieu Flamini. Wilshere is disciplined and his desire will cancel out the fact this isn’t his natural position, whilst alongside Ramsey he could develop a long lasting partnership.
With one pushing forward and one staying back, switching roles as required, this duo could really work- as long as time is put into developing the formation, which is needed.
LM: Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
Sacrificing Oxlade-Chamberlain during the week probably lost us the three points, as the absence of the England winger saw us lose a lot of running and pace. He was superb in midweek and must continue his performances this weekend, which hopefully he will as he continues to make up for his missed season last term.
CAM: Alexis Sanchez
The shining light of our season so far is the Chilean maestro we snatched off of Barcelona, as Alexis Sanchez has been in astonishing form so far this season. In the past two games he has played in a central position, rather than out wide, and has performed spectacularly- which means there’s no reason to change that.
RM: Theo Walcott
In ideal circumstances we’d continue to ease Theo Walcott back to the first team but we’re not in ideal circumstances, plus the fact we’ve waited long enough. With Santi Cazorla in abysmal form he should be dropped from the starting line-up and replaced by Walcott, who should play out on the right and shift Oxlade-Chamberlain to the opposite side. This attacking trio could really do some damage.
ST: Danny Welbeck
I truly believe that Welbeck will hit his best form when he has a partner up with him but for now he’s on his own and has done remarkably. With the three chosen by me behind him, Welbeck should have plenty of chances and can open up some gaps for his team-mates to charge through. If needed, Walcott can shift alongside him too so there’s plenty of room for changes when required during the game.