Xhaka and Tierney to start: Arsenal Predicted XI vs Tottenham Hotspur
Let’s have a look at our Arsenal projected team to play Spurs, with the potential to surpass their North London rivals with a two-goal win.
Arsenal was at the bottom of the Premier League standings after three games, while Spurs were on top.
However, following repeated victories and losses, the margin between the two teams has narrowed to only three points.
Arsenal would surpass their local rivals with a two-goal win, but any win would be crucial to regaining some momentum following a poor start.
Mikel Arteta has no need to hold back with his selection with no midweek encounter after Sunday’s contest.
Here’s how we think Arsenal will line up against the Spurs.
Goalkeeper
After three clean sheets in his first three Arsenal outings, Aaron Ramsdale looks certain to maintain his spot.
Given the opportunity he’s had so far, this would be his first true shot-stopping test, but he’s already showed strong abilities in the air and with the ball.
There were rumours in Germany that Bernd Leno might reclaim his starting place for this game, so that’s worth noting.
Arteta, on the other hand, stated he hadn’t made up his mind yet.
Defence
This appears to be a simple choice.
Kieran Tierney will start at left back, Gabriel Magalhaes and Ben White will start at center back, and Takehiro Tomiyasu will start at right back.
No one is even close to showing strong enough form to displace one of those four right now.
Nuno Tavares has looked lively in his cameos, but Tierney is still a lock to start.
Of course, with Tierney, Gabriel, and Tomiyasu’s recent injury records, we won’t see this back four all season.
Midfield
This is the area of the pitch where Arteta’s selection is the most debatable.
He could stick with the same starting lineup that faced Burnley, with Thomas Partey lining up behind Emile Smith Rowe and Martin Odegaard.
But this is not the same game as the one against Burnley. Granit Xhaka is also available.
Whether you like it or not, he has a good chance of returning to the starting lineup, especially given his experience in this game.
I have a sneaking suspicion that Xhaka will come in after Partey, with only one of Odegaard or Smith Rowe coming in ahead of them.
Forward
Nicolas Pepe, Bukayo Saka, and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang will almost certainly reprise their roles from last weekend, though Alexandre Lacazette may push for a starting spot given his record against Spurs.
Lacazette has four goals and two assists in eight Premier League North London derbies this season, including three in the last three home games.
It’s not implausible that he gets a spot on the team based on that.
PREDICTED LINEUP
Predicted Score: Arsenal 2 – 0 Tottenham
