Arsenal entertain Bayern Munich in tonight’s Champions League clash at the Emirates Stadium.
The Gunners are presently second in the league phase of the competition behind Bayern on goals scored.
They have the opportunity to beat the German champions for the first time since 2015. The club have drawn one and lost four of the previous five meetings.
Formation: 4-2-3-1
Predicted Line-up:
David Raya has been an undisputed starter in the Premier League and Champions League games. The Spaniard will be eyeing his fifth-straight clean sheet in Europe.
The defence could witness a solitary change with Riccardo Calafiori likely to be benched. The Italian has been an unused substitute in the last three European matches, with manager Mikel Arteta preferring to manage his workload given his short-term injuries in the past.
Piero Hincapie started at left-back against Slavia Prague this month. Club graduate Myles Lewis-Skelly, valued at £39 million by Transfermarkt, looks poised to start this time, as Hincapie is expected to slot in central defence alongside William Saliba, with Gabriel Magalhaes injured.
Hincapie was described as a ‘warrior‘ by Arteta in his pre-match presser.
Jurrien Timber has rarely been rotated this season despite good cover from Ben White. We won’t be surprised if the Netherlands international continues at right-back ahead of the Englishman. His work rate and effectiveness in one-on-one duels set him apart.
Martin Zubimendi served his one-game European ban against Slavia. The Spaniard has since been ever-present, and he is guaranteed to start alongside Declan Rice in central midfield.
The England international is at risk of future suspension, having already picked up two yellow cards in the competition this term. A third booking would trigger an automatic one-game ban.
Martin Odegaard was spotted in team training ahead of the game. Arteta has acknowledged that the captain could make his long-awaited return to the squad after a knee injury.
However, he may not necessarily start. He needs minutes off the bench to get up to speed.
Eberechi Eze’s stellar hat-trick against Tottenham Hotspur also means Arteta could be reluctant to switch him from the number 10 position to accommodate Odegaard in the starting XI tonight.
The rest of the line-up should stay unchanged. Leandro Trossard has been in fantastic form. The Belgian has already registered 10 goal contributions for the Gunners across all competitions.
He is assured to start on the left wing. Bukayo Saka is likewise an undisputed starter on the right flank.
Mikel Merino is poised to continue as the makeshift striker. The 29-year-old has amassed an impressive tally of nine goals and four assists from 19 games as a centre-forward for Arsenal this year.
The Spaniard delivered a fabulous assist for Trossard to open the scoring last weekend. Arteta has already confirmed that Viktor Gyokeres, Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus won’t be involved tonight.
How Arsenal could line up vs Bayern
Stats from Transfermarkt.com