Arsenal face Angers on the road in tonight’s friendly encounter. For the game, a number of first-team stars have been left out of the travelling squad and that includes summer signing Dani Ceballos, who needs to build up his fitness after recently joining the club on loan.
Predicted Lineup:
Bernd Leno has been left out of the squad altogether after playing the entire 90 minutes in the recent loss to Lyon. As such, Damian Martinez will be expected to start in goal.
In the defence, Emery is likely to go with the same combination from the previous game. Ainsley Maitland-Niles has been deemed fit after a minor injury concern and he should feature at right-back with Nacho Monreal on the opposite flank.
Sead Kolasinac was expected to return after missing the previous game due to a car-jacking incident, but he has, however, been excluded from the travelling party alongside teammate Mesut Ozil, who was alongside the Bosnian in that moment.
At the heart of the backline, Calum Chambers and Sokratis seem the likelier choice to start with Shkodran Mustafi probably coming off the bench. Mustafi has endured a tough time with the fans not pleased with his presence and his future hangs in the balance ahead of next season.
In the midfield, Dani Ceballos won’t play any role after being excluded from the squad. Instead, Matteo Guendouzi could start a second pre-season friendly on the bounce and he should partner Granit Xhaka in a two-man combination.
In the attack, Ozil and Alexandre Lacazette won’t play any role and the latter appears to have been excluded following the minor ankle sprain sustained in the Emirates Cup.
In this case, Eddie Nketiah could lead the line with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang on the left wing while Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Reiss Nelson may feature in the number 10 and right wing positions respectively at the Raymond Kopa Stadium.
Predicted Arsenal lineup: Damian Martinez, Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Calum Chambers, Sokratis Papastathopoulos, Nacho Monreal, Granit Xhaka, Matteo Guendouzi, Reiss Nelson, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Eddie Nketiah
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