Arsenal will be looking to continue their winning momentum as they host AFC Bournemouth at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday. The Gunners will come into this clash on the back of a 4-0 win over Standard Liege in their midweek UEFA Europa League fixture. However, they drew their last Premier League game against Manchester United.
Hence, the aim will be to seal all three points against the Cherries and maintain their push for the top four places in the league table. Meanwhile, here is how Unai Emery may line up his troops this weekend.
Formation: 4-3-1-2
Defence
Despite putting in yet another fantastic piece of display, Emery is unlikely to risk the wide-defensive duo of Kieran Tierney and Hector Bellerin this weekend. They have recently returned from a long-term injury absence, and it won’t be wise to give them a spot in the starting lineup. However, at least one of them could potentially feature as a substitute.
Either way, Bellerin and Tierney’s lack of involvement will pave the way for Calum Chambers and Sead Kolasinac to occupy the fullback roles. There will be changes in central defence as well, with Sokratis Papastathopoulos and David Luiz replacing Shkodran Mustafi and Rob Holding.
However, both Holding and Mustafi are pushing for a start after impressing in the cup games. That means the duo of Sokratis and Luiz must perform well and ideally keep a clean sheet in this encounter.
Bernd Leno will be looking for only his second shutout of the campaign, replacing Emiliano Martinez in between the sticks.
Midfield
Emery is expected to revert to a three-man midfield system after employing a 4-2-3-1 formation against Standard Liege in midweek. Matteo Guendouzi and Granit Xhaka are guaranteed starter at the base of the 4-3-2-1, with Dani Ceballos likely to operate as the additional midfielder.
The Spaniard was one of the best performers in the win over Liege and will be hoping to maintain that momentum against the Cherries this weekend. Guendouzi, too, will look to get forward and influence the game.
Attack
Ceballos shifting into a deeper midfield role means, there is a chance Mesut Ozil could start this weekend. The German international was left out of the squad in midweek but will return to his favoured number ten role. Unai Emery, however, took a dig at Ozil after Arsenal’s win and it will be interesting to see what transpires on Sunday. Joe Willock is the likely alternative for the German playmaker.
Ozil, if he starts, will be tasked with the responsibility of feeding the offensive duo of Nicolas Pepe and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. Additionally, the fans will be excited to see Gabriel Martinelli, although he is unlikely to start in this weekend’s clash.
