Arsenal face a tricky trip to the Bet 365 stadium as they face Stoke City for their second game of the season.
After managing to come out as winners, even if only just, against Leicester City, Arsenal must approach this game with caution. Stoke did look bleak against Everton in their opening fixture but have gone on to make amends with the addition of Jese Rodriguez, who joins the Potters on loan from PSG.
Having lost Marco Arnautovic to West Ham as he questioned the lack of ambition showed by the team, the signing of Jese, albeit on a temporary basis, comes as a statement. The decision is also good on Jese’s part as other talented players who featured very rarely at their traditional setups, chose a switch to West Midlands and have prospered ever since, namely Bojan and Shaqiri.
Let us look at Arsenal’s predicted line-up against Stoke City:
Goalkeeper:
Petr Cech
Petr Cech may be 35 years of age, but there’s no denying his ability that just seems to grow along with him. Though he did make questionable errors in the season opener against Leicester City, it won’t be enough to displace him from his position as Arsenal’s number 1.
Defence:
The defence against Leicester was a horror show. Rob Holding did nothing to prove the managers’ faith in him and clouded an opportunity that could have been a place in Arsenal’s XI on a regular basis. Instead, he had fans wishing for a speedy recovery to both Mertesacker and Koscielny.
Mertesacker is back and fit for the game so he can expect to start at the centre of the back 3 preferred by Arsene, with Mustafi and Monreal on either side.
The central defence partnership would ideally be.
Mustafi – Mertesacker – Monreal
Sead Kolasinac will be expected to start every game, and he will be expected to line up at LWB, the role taken by Oxlade Chamberlain against Leicester.
Bellerin will keep his place at RWB unless a late injury comes into the picture.
Wingbacks: Kolasinac and Bellerin
Read: Arsenal legend suggests that the EPL trophy should be named after Ferguson.
Midfield:
Ramsey’s important cameo against Leicester City earns him a starting spot for this week’s crucial encounter.
Xhaka might be the other central midfielder simply due to his distribution and an eye for a pass. His sloppiness in midfield in giving away the ball on numerous occasions was evident in the last game, but he managed to redeem himself with two assists, both of which helped Arsenal to 3 points on the night.
Hence, the midfield will be:
Xhaka – Ramsey
Attack:
This might be a bold prediction, but one can expect Giroud to start; given his aerial prowess to nullify the considerable firepower Stoke possess in their set pieces thanks to their towering CB’s. Also, Shaqiri and Bojan will not make life for the wingbacks any easier. What we could see, is a shift of Lacazette to the position of LW, Giroud up front and Welbeck down the right.
Ozil might be dropped given his on-off performance against Leicester, but then again these are just predictions.
So, here’s what the attack might look like
Lacazette – Giroud – Welbeck
