Two keys players out, 4-3-3, my Arsenal predicted line-up to play Basel

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Two keys players out, 4-3-3, my Arsenal predicted line-up to play Basel

Champions League, Injuries, Match Preview September 26, 2016 , by Ian H.

This week is one of those busy weeks as we will try and cope with the strains of playing every weekend and midweek as the games come thick and fast. Following our battering of Chelsea this weekend, it’s back to midweek Champions League action, with the visit of Basel to The Emirates stadium.

After matchday one, we find ourselves all square with our deserved draw in Paris against PSG matching the other game in the group which also finished 1-1 so we need to get a decent home win under our belt to kick start the campaign.

This is how I feel we could line up:

Goalkeeper:
David Ospina played in Paris, and pulled a great performance out of the bag, so it’s likely he’ll retain his place. Arsene Wenger more or less said he was his cup keeper, so it would be no surprise to see Ospina in Cech’s starting berth for this one.

Defence:
Since our injury crisis and subsequent purchase of the German defender Shkodran Mustafi, our defence has looked solid with the combination of the German alongside Koscielny. They were amazing in our win over Chelsea and have looked at ease with each other all season, thwarting the sometimes unplayable Diego Costa. Full back’s Bellerin and Monreal have also played well since the start of the season, so it’s more than likely these four will be Wenger’s chosen back line.

Midfield:
Francis Coquelin was unlucky to limp out of the Chelsea game on 32 mins on Saturday. It’s been announced today that he’ll miss two weeks, a much better prognosis that was originally thought. Granit Xhaka came on for Le Coq, and it’s expected Wenger will go with Xhaka and Cazorla on Wednesday.

Attack:
Olivier Giroud was sent off in Paris after coming on as sub and will miss the game. New signing Lucas Perez will be hoping to continue his goal scoring form from the League Cup game at Forest, so would probably hope to start. The Spaniard will probably be joined by Theo Walcott, but I think he may give the nod to Alex Iwobi alongside Mesut Ozil and Alexis, all three in inspired form against Chelsea.

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