Arsenal could brace themselves for yet another low scoring encounter when they host Wolverhampton Wanderers on Sunday. The Gunners are coming on the back of a 3-0 win over Molde in the UEFA Europa League in midweek but have scored only one goal in their last five league matches. Their record won’t be helped by the fact that they are facing one of the league’s strongest defensive sides, though it will heavily depend on Mikel Arteta’s team selection this weekend.
Predicted Arsenal Lineup Vs Wolverhampton Wanderers
Defence
Arsenal are set to make wholesale changes to the starting lineup after resting their key players in midweek. Starting in goal, Runar Alex Runarsson should make way for Bernd Leno, who was the hero in the club’s 0-0 draw with Leeds United last weekend.
Cedric Soares and Ainsley Maitland-Niles are also expected to return to the bench, paving the way for the club’s two premier fullbacks in Hector Bellerin and Kieran Tierney to come back into the starting eleven. They are supposed to operate in a traditional back-four, although Tierney could drop in at times, aiding the two centre-backs in Gabriel Magalhaes and Rob Holding.
These two defenders had a difficult time dealing with the Leeds attack last weekend, so it will be interesting to see if they can improve their output against Wolves.
Midfield
There has been no update from Arsenal regarding the availability of Mohamed Elneny while Thomas Partey is still facing fitness issues. There is a possibility that both could miss the game this weekend, in what would be a massive blow for Mikel Arteta.
It could once again force the Spaniard to rely on Dani Ceballos and Granit Xhaka in double-pivot. But on the bright side, he will have the option of starting with Bukayo Saka in the additional midfield slot, as the Englishman had only suffered a dead leg in the game against Leeds United.
Attack
Arteta is hoping that Willian can overcome his fitness problems and start at right-wing, ahead of Nicolas Pepe, who will serve the first of his three-match suspension this weekend. Reiss Nelson remains on standby should the Brazilian fail to recover in time.
Elsewhere, Arteta should revert the changes he made last weekend by deploying Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in a central role. It essentially means that Alexandre Lacazette could once again spearhead the Arsenal attack, with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang operating out wide.
