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Football London
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Chris Wheatley

Aubameyang returns, Lacazette dropped - Arsenal lineups Mikel Arteta should pick vs Leicester

Arsenal bounced back from their defeat to Manchester City by producing a comeback against Rapid Vienna on Thursday night.

The Gunners are level on points with Leicester in the league and will be expecting to make several changes from their match in Austria.

Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang and Hector Bellerin made instant impacts after coming off from the bench in Vienna, with both players likely to feature from the start.

We asked our writers on the football.london desk to name the team they would choose against a tough Leicester side.

Chris Wheatley - Chief Arsenal Writer

Mikel Arteta lauded the performance of Thomas Partey after the Ghanaian made his full Gunners debut against Rapid Vienna.

The 27-year-old midfielder's progressive passing style and forward-thinking style of player immediately endeared him to Arsenal fans on social media, and it's likely that he'll be given a second consecutive opportunity to impress on Sunday.

Hector Bellerin's four assists in seven games makes him an almost certain returnee to the Arsenal defence, with Brazilian defenders David Luiz and Gabriel forming a confident partnership at the heart of Arsenal's defence.

In attack Aubameyang could be given an opportunity through the middle after a lacklustre performance from Alexandre Lacazette in Vienna, with Willian and Dani Ceballos also facing late fitness tests ahead of the game.

Wheatley's Arsenal XI: Leno; Bellerin, Luiz, Gabriel, Tierney, Xhaka, Partey, Ceballos, Pepe, Saka, Aubameyang.

Tashan Deniran-Alleyne - Football Writer and Arsenal fan

Mikel Arteta will have learned a lot about his squad against Rapid Vienna, the biggest lesson being that some of the back-up players simply aren't up to the required standard.

Luckily, most of his regular starters got some much-needed rest on Thursday so I would expect the likes of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Kieran Tierney and Granit Xhaka to start against the Foxes.

With that said, a lot does depend on Dani Ceballos overcoming the injury that kept him out of the Europa League game. If fit, a midfield trio of him alongside Thomas Partey and Dani Ceballos would get my vote.

Whilst Hector Bellerin has looked impressive going forward this season, his struggles against Man City last weekend are still fresh in the mind, so Ainsley Maitland-Niles would be my pick at right-back in a 4-3-3 system.This could very well be Arteta's strongest team.

Deniran-Alleyne's team : Leno; Maitland-Niles, David Luiz, Gabriel, Tierney; Xhaka, Partey, Ceballos; Pepe, Aubameyang, Saka.

Now it's time for you to have your say.

If you were in charge who would you choose?

You can pick the team you would name for the game at the Emirates on Sunday by using our interactive gadget above.

And share your teams with us on Twitter and Facebook.

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