Arteta makes 10 changes | Predicted Arsenal XI vs Bayer Leverkusen as £6m player starts
Arsenal face Bayer Leverkusen on the road in the first leg of the Champions League round of 16 tie tonight.
The Gunners are on a four-match winning streak and are much fancied to beat the Bundesliga outfit at the BayArena.
Ahead of the game, manager Mikel Arteta should make wholesale changes from the 2-1 victory over Mansfield Town in the FA Cup fifth round.
Formation: 4-3-3
Predicted Line-up:
David Raya is an undisputed starter in goal for the Premier League and Champions League matches. He is poised to return between the sticks, having been rested for the Cup tie at the One Call Stadium last weekend. The Spaniard will be eyeing his sixth clean sheet of the European campaign.
The backline should witness a complete overhaul from the Mansfield Town game. Jurrien Timber, William Saliba, Gabriel Magalhaes and Piero Hincapie are expected to return. Cristhian Mosquera, Riccardo Calafiori and Marli Salmon should drop to the substitutes’ bench. Arteta experimented with a back three against Mansfield on Saturday, which was short-lived.
Martin Zubimendi and Declan Rice are nailed-on starters in the centre of the park, replacing Christian Norgaard and Kai Havertz. Max Dowman was Arsenal’s standout player against Mansfield, with five shots and was unlucky not to find the back of the net.
The 16-year-old should still make way for Eberechi Eze to occupy the attacking midfield position. The Englishman scored a sublime winner coming off the bench last weekend. In the final third, Bukayo Saka will obviously start from the right wing ahead of Noni Madueke.
Gabriel Jesus was wasteful leading the line for the Gunners against Mansfield. It appears a no-brainer decision to replace him with Viktor Gyokeres upfront. The Swede has been Arsenal’s in-form forward since the turn of the year with 10 goal contributions in all competitions. Kai Havertz could come off the bench to replace him at the hour mark.
We are backing Gabriel Martinelli to start on the left wing ahead of Leandro Trossard tonight. Both were in the XI in the last game, with Martinelli slotting as a left wing-back. Martinelli grabbed the assist for Noni Madueke’s opening goal. His form has been quite spectacular in Europe this term.
The £6 million signing has seven goal involvements in as many appearances in the Champions League (six goals and one assist). His pace on the counter-attack could be useful against a Leverkusen backline that looked vulnerable defending spaces during the 3-3 Bundesliga draw at Freiburg.
How Arsenal could line up vs Leverkusen
Stats from Transfermarkt.com
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