Arsenal will look to continue their fine start to the campaign when they take on Mark Hughes’ Stoke City at the Bet365 Stadium. Stoke has not always been a happy hunting ground for the Gunners, but they came up triumphs last weekend with a fine 4-1 victory. Arsene Wenger is likely to make numerous changes to his starting lineup following a thrilling 4-3 comeback win over Leicester City in the curtain raiser.
Formation: 3-4-2-1
Lineup:
Petr Cech is an undoubted starter for the Gunners. The former Czech international could be put at blame for the opening Leicester goal, but it will take much more than that for David Opsina to displace him.
Rob Holding had a miserable night at the Emirates. The Englishman will most certainly be dropped in favour of Per Mertesacker, who could be accompanied by compatriot Shkodran Mustafi and Nacho Monreal in the back three.
As weird as it may sound, Hector Bellerin could be benched for the Stoke trip as he looked out of pace at right wing-back versus Leicester. Oxlade-Chamberlain could be shifted to the right wing-back position, thus enabling Sead Kolasinac to play in his preferred left wing-back spot.
Mohamed Elneny is a definite candidate to drop to the bench on Saturday with Aaron Ramsey likely to start alongside Granit Xhaka following his cameo appearance against Leicester which included a vital goal.
Danny Welbeck put in a real shift with his pace against the Foxes, and he will play the support role alongside Mesut Ozil. Alexandre Lacazette scored just 94 seconds into his Gunners debut, and he will be expected to provide a performance with Olivier Giroud knocking on the door.
Prediction:
Arsenal ended their seven-year winless streak at Stoke with a thumping 4-1 win last year, and I am backing them to continue this run. Should things go pear-shaped, Arsenal could turn to Giroud to provide the physical presence upfront.
Stoke City 0 – 2 Arsenal
Image – Getty