Arsenal take on Paris Saint-Germain in Saturday’s much-awaited Champions League final in Budapest.
The Gunners secured a long-awaited Premier League title last week, and the focus is now on the Champions League final against Les Parisiens.
Manager Mikel Arteta made nine changes to the starting XI in the 2-1 league win over Crystal Palace, and we anticipate at least eight at the weekend.
David Raya got a rare breather against the Eagles, which was a dead-rubber game. Kepa Arrizabalaga made his Gunners league debut and had a fine outing with one fabulous diving save. The Spanish ace should make way for his compatriot Raya between the sticks on Saturday.
William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes are poised to return to the heart of the defence against PSG. With Jurrien Timber yet to fully recover from a groin issue, Cristhian Mosquera looks set to continue in the right-back position. Ben White has been ruled out for the season with a knee injury.
It is a toss-up between Riccardo Calafiori and Piero Hincapie at left-back. Calafiori has been the regular in the role in recent weeks. The Italian provides the right balance in attack and defence, unlike Hincapie, who is more defensive-minded and does not make regular inverted runs. Calafiori should get the nod.
In midfield, Declan Rice will obviously be reinstated after a well-deserved break at Selhurst Park. Martin Zubimendi, who started as a makeshift right-back last weekend, has had a notable dip in his performance levels during the back end of the season due to the extra workload.
Hence, it appears a no-brainer decision to continue with Myles Lewis-Skelly alongside Rice due to his high intensity and good physical presence. Christian Norgaard, who made his full league debut for the Gunners last Sunday, should likewise drop to the bench.
In the final third, there should be a complete overhaul from the recent London derby. Max Dowman, Noni Madueke, Gabriel Jesus and Gabriel Martinelli should drop to the bench. Bukayo Saka is expected to start on the right wing. He has scored twice in his last three games against PSG.
Leandro Trossard has had a dreadful year in terms of goal contributions, but has stepped up in recent weeks. He got an assist against Fulham before scoring a dramatic winner at West Ham United. The £27 million signing was unfortunate to hit the woodwork in the 1-0 win over Burnley.
The Belgian has hit good form at the right time and should continue on the left wing. Martin Odegaard and Eberechi Eze are Arteta’s options for the number 10 role. We would personally go with Odegaard due to his better ball control, link-up play and good chemistry with Saka on the right side of attack.
Arteta’s decision to start Kai Havertz upfront against Burnley was justified by his match-winning goal. Despite this, Viktor Gyokeres is our preferred choice for the centre-forward position.
The Swede had one of his best games of the season against Atletico Madrid in the second leg of the Champions League semi-final, where he was exceptional with his hold-up play and gave the opposition defence plenty to think about.
Gyokeres’ distribution has also improved as the season has progressed. The 27-year-old is the club’s top scorer with 21 goals across all competitions and deserves to lead the line ahead of Havertz. Gyokeres’ positioning and high shot-to-goal conversion rate (25 percent) should get him the nod.
Predicted Arsenal line-up vs Paris Saint-Germain (4-2-3-1): Raya; Mosquera, Saliba, Gabriel, Calafiori; Rice, Lewis-Skelly; Saka, Odegaard, Trossard; Gyokeres.
Stats from Transfermarkt.com & Sofascore.com