Arsenal face another big test on Friday night when they travel north to face Manchester City in the fourth round of the FA Cup.
The Gunners beat Manchester United 3-2 in a thrilling Premier League encounter last weekend to stay five points clear of City in the standings.
Mikel Arteta was once an assistant coach to Pep Guardiola at City. Which team might he pick to face his former mentor…?
GK: Matt Turner – Opportunities have already come for the American in both the Europa League and FA Cup so far this season.
RB: Takehiro Tomiyasu – Replaced Ben White at half-time against Manchester United last weekend and could keep his place for this one.
CB: William Saliba – The Frenchman has been a revelation so far this season in a sensational ‘debut’ campaign with the Gunners. He missed out against Oxford but could start here.
CB: Rob Holding – With Gabriel playing every minute in the Premier League this season, as well as the full Oxford tie, rest at some point is important.
LB: Oleksandr Zinchenko – Set for a first appearance against Manchester CIty since leaving in the summer. Crucial for Arsenal since joining in the summer.
CM: Martin Odegaard – Has been in sensational form in the Premier League pretty much since the start of October, which is all the more impressive given that the season paused for two months.
CM: Thomas Partey – Arsenal are going to need a destructive force in the centre of the pitch if they are to stop City getting a creative foothold.
CM: Granit Xhaka – Has become a vital and mature presence for the Gunners and that will be an important set of attributes for this game.
RW: Leandro Trossard – Made his debut as a late substitute against Manchester United and could come in from the start here is Arteta wants to rest Bukayo Saka.
ST: Eddie Nketiah – Has another five or six weeks before having to deal with competition from the currently sidelined Gabriel Jesus. Right now, he’s making the most of his opportunity.
LW: Gabriel Martinelli – This is probably too soon and too great a magnitude to put Emile Smith Rowe into the starting XI after only a handful of minutes off the bench since groin surgery.
Credit: 90min.com
