Arsenal will take on Real Sporting as they welcome them to the Emirates Stadium on Thursday night to grab a win and book their place in the last eight of the Europa League. The Gunners were held to a 2-2 stalemate in the first-leg encounter, so they will have to perform better in order to advance forward.
Mikel Arteta will probably opt for a 4-3-3 formation and is expected to make a few changes to the starting XI. Gabriel Jesus should play from the start to lead the line down the middle while Leandro Trossard drops to the bench.
4-3-3 Arsenal Predicted XI Vs Real Sporting
Aaron Ramsdale will continue to feature between the sticks for the Gunners after keeping a clean sheet in his last appearance against Fulham. William Saliba will once again function alongside Gabriel at the heart of Arsenal’s backline as they look to keep the opposition attackers at bay during the game.
Takehiro Tomiyasu will continue at the right-back position, while Oleksandr Zincheko hopes to impress on the other side as the left-back. Both of them need to make forward runs out on the wide areas to create enough chances but also remain compact defensively.
Rob Holding will be named on the bench as he looks to offer cover for the defensive positions.
Midfield
Granit Xhaka, Thomas Partey and Martin Odegaard will make up Arsenal’s midfield as they try to establish their superiority over the opposition at the centre of the park. Odegaard will once again act as the main playmaker for Arsenal in the opponent’s half.
Jorginho and Fabio Vieira will have to settle for a spot on the bench as they wait for their chance to shine in the second half if Arteta decides to call upon his services.
Attack
Gabriel Martinelli will continue at the left flank while Bukayo Saka looks to weave his magic from the opposite flank.
As mentioned earlier, Gabriel Jesus is expected to lead the charge against the opposition as he fancies his chances of finding the back of the net being the focal point of Arsenal’s attack.
Leandro Trossard will take a spot on the bench to provide cover for the attacking positions.
