Arsene Wenger has hinted at what defensive duo will play against Leicester City on Sunday.
Since Per Mertesacker’s sending off, Arsenal have kept consecutive clean sheets in the Premier League with Gabriel Paulista alongside Laurent Koscielny. Wenger has hinted that the defence will stay as it is for the upcoming fixture.
‘Per Mertesacker is a great leader, but I have three centre-backs and I adapt a little bit to their form, to the number of games they’ve played as well as to the opponent, what is their strength and where they can hurt us.’
All of those words point to Gabriel, deservedly keeping his place in the line-up. Mertesacker has struggled for form this season and his suspension has given Gabriel a chance to cement a first team spot. There will be few bigger tests in the Premier League for the Brazilian than top scorer Jamie Vardy, so it’ll be interesting to see how he handles the electric English forward on Sunday.
Meanwhile, Danny Welbeck is set for a return to the squad, certainly next week against Hull City in the FA Cup, but the Mail report that he could even feature from the bench tomorrow after Wenger confirmed the forward was ‘fully fit’ and just lacked competition.
The return of the versatile Welbeck will, of course, act as a huge boost for the club. His mix of pace and power is very desirable, whilst his defensive qualities can be very useful when playing in a wide position.
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