Arsenal will play their opening Champions League game in Croatia on Wednesday night when the face Dinamo Zagreb. Whilst it won’t be an easy trip, it’s one that Arsene Wenger will want to win, especially with Bayern Munich in our group.Â
The Gunners have almost a full squad to choose from, Per Mertesacker, Jack Wilshere, Tomas Rosicky and of course Danny Welbeck are the notable absentees. With Saturday’s game against Chelsea in mind, here’s how I’d like to see us line up.
Goalkeeper:Â David Ospina will be hungry to get a chance in goal, but I think it’s important for Petr Cech to keep his place in goal for this one. With every game, he looks more composed behind the Arsenal back four. Ospina will get his chance in the League Cup the following weekend.
Right Back:Â Hector Bellerin has really impressed at right back, but he’s still young and can’t play every game this season. Luckily we have Mathieu Debuchy who is more than capable of standing in. His added experience may help with the away trip.
Centre Back:Â With Per Mertesacker still out due to illness, this is an area of the team I would like to see unchanged from the weekend. Gabriel Paulista and Laurent Koscielny are developing quite the partnership. The duo have three clean sheets out of three this season and if they both start on Wednesday night, I’d be confident of another.
Left Back: Nacho Monreal has done a great job in this role so far, but I would like to see Kieran Gibbs get his chance on Wednesday. Gibbs has so far failed to realise his potential and now more than ever, with Monreal on great form, Gibbs needs to impress with every opportunity he gets.
Central Midfield: It is good to rotate, but it is also important not to change to much. We have some momentum right now and we don’t want to lose that. Francis Coquelin and Santi Cazorla are my choice of central midfielders. If Cazorla looks like he may need a rest, then I would like Aaron Ramsey to be given a chance in the centre.
Attacking Midfield: After a wonderful assist for Theo Walcott on Saturday, Mesut Ozil is showing he’s starting to find his best form at Arsenal. I’d like to see him start again in that number 10 role.
Right Wing:Â Whilst I would like to see Chamberlain start, I want Theo Walcott to get more game time under his belt and would like to see how he combines with Olivier Giroud in attack. His pace is a constant threat on the right wing and it’s what makes him one of the most feared attackers in Europe. Having him on the right would keep Zagreb pegged back, and if they do come forward, we would be ready to counter.
Left Wing: There’s only one man I’d like to see start here. Alexis Sanchez. The Chilean is ready for another big season, and although he is yet to score, he looks like he is about to find his best form again. We must not overplay him early on in the season, but now is not the time to rest him, he’s a match-winner and we need the win on Wednesday.
Striker: Amidst all the criticism, many forget that Olivier Giroud is Arsenal’s top scorer this season. Two Premier League goals, despite starting from the bench on many occasions. I think his physicality and ability to hold the ball up will be useful for this fixture. Alexis and Walcott either side of him makes up for the Frenchman’s lack of pace. I think this trio could be very dangerous on the attack, but feel Wenger is hesitant to try it as neither of the three are specifically good at keeping the ball.
Line Up in full: Cech; Debuchy, Gabriel, Koscielny, Gibbs; Coquelin, Cazorla; Walcott, Ozil, Sanchez; Giroud
That’s only three changes from the team that beat Stoke on Saturday. Whilst some might like to see more changes, I think it is more realistic to expect that Wenger will not tinker too much with a winning formula.