An “intense and emotional” London derby at Stamford Bridge took it out of this Arsenal team, completing an exhausting week that was ultimately productive for the Premier League leaders.
Moisés Caicedo’s red card presented the Gunners with a great opportunity to snatch three points on Sunday afternoon, but they could only muster a point after Mikel Merino cancelled out Trevoh Chalobah’s early second-half opener.
Arsenal’s strength in depth, despite a plethora of injuries, has allowed them to thrive at the start of the season, and the Gunners are still mitigating a few notable absences. A Brentford side that have lost five of their six Premier League away games are up next for the Gunners, with Arteta likely to shuffle his pack for the Bees’ visit, given that a trip to Aston Villa is on the horizon.
Here’s how Arsenal could line up at the Emirates on Wednesday night.
Arsenal Predicted Lineup vs. Brentford (4-3-3)
GK: David Raya—Raya faces up against his former club on Wednesday night, having failed to keep a clean sheet in his previous four games.
RB: Ben White—Jurriën Timber has enjoyed an extended run in the team and it wouldn’t hurt the Dutchman if he dropped to the bench here. White remains a perfectly capable option who should offer more in the final attack.
CB: William Saliba—Saliba hinted that the Frenchman could be back in action on Wednesday, having missed out due to a “bizarre” injury on Sunday.
CB: Piero Hincapié—Arteta should pick Hincapié, who just about held firm against Chelsea, over Cristhian Mosquera to ensure a right-foot/left-foot dynamic is retained in possession.
LB: Riccardo Calafiori—Calafiori’s outing at the Bridge was compromised by an early yellow card. He’s now just a booking away from a one-game suspension.
CM: Christian Nørgaard—Martín Zubimendi could do with a breather and we haven’t seen much of Nørgaard since he joined the club from Brentford.
CM: Declan Rice—As stellar as this Arsenal team is, Rice is someone they can’t function optimally without. His run in the side will thus continue.
CM: Martin Ødegaard—Arteta could reintroduce Arsenal’s captain into his XI despite his shoddy cameo at the Bridge. This will be a game for Ødegaard’s intricacy.
RW: Bukayo Saka—It was some tussle with Marc Cucurella on Sunday, with Saka ultimately winning the war as he teed up Merino’s equaliser while nose-to-nose with the lively Spaniard. Ødegaard’s inclusion means he’ll relinquish the armband.
ST: Viktor Gyökeres—Merino enjoyed another effective run as Arsenal’s centre forward, but Arsenal didn’t sign Gyökeres to warm the bench.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Arsenal Predicted Lineup vs. Brentford: Gyokeres Leads Gunners Attack.
