Arsenal lineup vs Everton: Mikel Arteta hands out a shock DEBUT

With the Champions League fixture for Arsenal looming, Mikel Arteta has focused on squad rotation in his latest lineup.

The Gunners travel to Goodison Park to face Sean Dyche’s Everton. Given how results in the top half of the table went yesterday, it’s crucial that the Spanish boss fielded a strong eleven in order to maximise his chances of three points. After all, with the aim being a title this season, every point is invaluable, particularly in games like this.

To see how the lineup matches up to our prediction, click here.

Arsenal lineup vs Everton: David Raya makes his debut

Perhaps the biggest shock of this lineup is the inclusion of David Raya to make his debut. After Aaron Ramsdale has had a good start to the season, it’s weird to see him dropped to the bench.

I would imagine the thinking behind Mikel Arteta’s decision was that he would like to start the English stop-stopper against PSV in the Champions League fixture. Therefore, with a Premier League proven goalkeeper on the bench, there’s no harm in starting David Raya in this fixture. Certainly, Arsenal fans are excited to see their new signing in action.

Another highlight from the starting eleven is the involvement of Fabio Vieira. The Portugal creative midfielder has come in to replace Kai Havertz. Given the form of Vieira from the bench, this is a good call. This presumably means that Arteta plans to start Kai Havertz in the Champions League.

The other big call from Arteta is to start Nketiah instead of Gabriel Jesus. Again, this is likely to rest Jesus ready for the Champions League fixture – Nketiah is more than good enough to start.

What’s your score prediction for this important fixture, Arsenal fans?