Arsenal come up against Sporting CP in the second leg of their Europa League match. Currently, the fixture is tied at 2-2, as the Gunners refused to be beaten in Lisbon. But now, with the home advantage, they need to get the job done.
Given Mikel Arteta’s recent squad updates on the Arsenal official website, and just under 7 hours until the match kicks off, now is the right time to predict the starting lineup.
Arsenal predicted lineup – FOUR changes to the back-line
Arsenal played their full strength lineup against Fulham in the Premier League – this is to be expected. However, since the Europa League is second in Arteta’s pecking order, expect there to be changes to his starting lineup in this match.
The first of those changes comes between the sticks, where Matt Turner will start in goal ahead of Ramsdale.
Then, White will be given rest and replacing him will be Takehiro Tomiyasu. There’ll be another like-for-like change on the right-hand side of defence, where Kieran Tierney will replace Zinchenko in the lineup.
Gabriel will retain his place in the starting lineup but he’ll be without his usual partner, as Rob Holding will join him instead of Saliba.
Arsenal predicted lineup – TWO changes in the midfield
Granit Xhaka will be the only midfielder to keep his place, after a phenomenal performance against Fulham and plenty of rest recently.
Partnering him will be deadline day signing Jorginho, who is still seeking his first Arsenal goal after Emi Martinez hilariously goal-snatched him.
Perhaps the biggest change of them all will be Emile Smith Rowe, who is yet to start a game this season after being plagued by injury. Arteta said in his presser that the 22-year-old has been preparing to start, but he needs to prove his worth as a starter – this game is perfect for that.
Arsenal predicted lineup – TWO changes in attack
Leandro Trossard will retain his place as the false nine. He’ll likely be replaced at some point in the match by the returning Jesus, but Trossard was man of the match against Fulham getting 3 quick-fire assists.
Reiss Nelson will start the match, although he’ll hope to get on the score sheet much sooner than his scintillating winner against Bournemouth. I think all of our hearts would rather that, too.
Then, Fabio Vieira will be used as a winger, but he could interchange with Smith Rowe in the midfield depending on what the game calls for.
Full Arsenal predicted lineup – Turner; Tomiyasu, Gabriel, Holding, Tierney; Jorginho, Xhaka, Smith Rowe; Nelson, Trossard, Vieira