Football fans in the Transfer Tavern are gearing up for the biggest north London derby in recent history- and the Arsenal punters at the bar are far from confident.
The Gunners have endured an awful run of form in the past six weeks with just two victories from their last 11 in all competitions, with just one of those in the Premier League, and their midweek defeat to Swansea City condemned them to three consecutive losses in all competitions for the first-time in six years.
It also meant Arsenal missed the chance to draw level on points with Tottenham, and cut the deficit they have chasing Leicester City, and leaves the Gunners with a massive task if they are to end their 12-year wait for a Premier League crown.
With ten games to go, Arsenal currently sit six points behind leaders Leicester and know a defeat this weekend could extend that margin- whilst a win for Spurs of the Gunners would also mean Mauricio Pochettino’s side would be six points ahead of Arsenal with nine games remaining.
With Arsenal performing shockingly bad over recent matches, our fans believe Arsene Wenger must make some big chances to the side this weekend- and they’ve identified this line-up as giving them the best chance of victory.
Hit Wenger below to see how Arsenal should line-up for this weekend’s huge north London derby!
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GK: David Ospina
In quite possibly what is the most Arsenal-like thing to ever happen, Petr Cech is ruled-out for this crucial match after picking up an injury in midweek due to a hamstring issue sustained as he ran back from going up for a late corner.
As such, David Ospina will feature in his first Premier League match of the season. The Colombian was Arsenal’s first-choice stopper last term and has featured in the FA Cup campaign so far, so he has the experienced, but Gooners will be concerned after the mistakes he made in the opening stages of the Champions League campaign.
With Arsenal short of form and underperforming, selecting the reserve goalkeeper is not a choice anyone wanted to see forced.
RB: Hector Bellerin
Hector Bellerin struggled against Memphis Depay last weekend and has had his defensive performances questioned in recent weeks but he remains as the first-choice right-back at the club. In fact, he’s the only natural player in this position amongst the first-team squad.
Bellerin needs a big game but fans won’t be too concerned as he’s still young and has shown great potential for the future. He struggles against silky players, so Tottenham may look to run at him, but his attacking contribution may prove pivotal.
CB: Per Mertesacker
Mertesacker is a very controversial figure amongst the fans but his defensive prowess was missed last week as the partnership of Gabriel Paulista and Laurent Koscielny was awful against a relatively unknown Manchester United side.
With Koscielny injured, missing his second game in a row, there’s no choice but to bring Mertesacker into the side again but it would be the right decision nonetheless. With his experience and positioning, Arsenal have a better chance of keeping Tottenham’s opportunities limited.
CB: Gabriel Paulista
If Laurent Koscielny was fit, there’s no doubt he would be playing. However, his absence leaves a choice between Gabriel Paulista and Calum Chambers. Whilst the Brazilian has been woeful recently, he’s the better option to Chambers.
Paulista desperately need a big game and if he doesn’t up his performances between now and the end of the season he may find himself further down the pecking order if Arsenal elect to make more defensive signings.
He has show potential but now needs to find consistency but his absence of speaking English may prove detrimental.
LB: Nacho Monreal
Arsenal’s most underrated player by far, Nacho Monreal is crucially important to the Gunners and he needs a big game tomorrow. He continues to keep Kieran Gibbs out of the side and for good reason, as the Spaniard is far superior.
He’s capable of tidying up in defence and is also effective moving forward, although he does need to improve his productivity in the final third and provide more crosses into the danger area, rather than playing the ball short as Arsenal tend to do.
CDM: Francis Coquelin
Francis Coquelin is still continuing his recovery from injury and Arsenal will be hopeful that he finds his feet again for this crucial match, as his performance in the middle of the park could be decisive. After a nightmare against Swansea, he’ll need a big game.
Without his ideal midfield partner in Santi Cazorla, who remains injured, Coquelin has looked shaky but that’s due to the fact he’s left exposed, rather than direct errors from the Frenchman himself. He does need to ensure that doesn’t happen as much as he can though, as he needs to get used to playing with different partners.
CM: Aaron Ramsey
With Jack Wilshere and the aforementioned Cazorla unavailable, Aaron Ramsey is likely to start again in the middle of the park and he needs a massive game. This season the Welshman has been pretty poor and his performances have proved to be decisive in Arsenal’s poor run of form.
It’s crunch time for Ramsey now as if he doesn’t improve, then once Wilshere and/or Cazorla return he could find himself ousted from the squad. He’s still a quality player though so if he does rekindle his form, he will be decisive for the back-end of the season.
RW: Alexis Sanchez
Alexis Sanchez has been far from his best since returning from injury and Arsenal desperately need him to return to form soon. He’s shown flashes at stages, with a tremendous assist in midweek, but at times he’s guilty of trying to hard.
Alexis needs to go back to basics and let his game find him, rather than trying to force an opening. It’s clear his head isn’t quite in it at the moment but he endured similar struggles at the start of the season, before going on a tremendous goalscoring run.
If he finds the net tomorrow, he could do similar in a crucial stage of the season.
CAM: Mesut Ozil
Now just two assists shy of equalling the all-time Premier League assists record for a single season, Mesut Ozil simply cannot be dropped. Unfortunately for him, the player’s around him have struggled to perform and that directly drops Ozil’s involvement.
He needs players making the right moves ahead of him, which is why Arsene Wenger’s selection in this part of the field are crucial. Ozil will not be dropped but changes in front and beside him could provide the openings he needs to create chances.
LW: Joel Campbell
Controversially dropped for a while when Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Theo Walcott returned from injury, the duo remained ahead of Campbell despite poor performances. He got his chance against Swansea and immediately took it, scoring the goal, and was Arsenal’s best player on the pitch.
He was unfortunate to be substituted in midweek, a decision which didn’t go down well amongst the home supporters, and he’ll be flying high after a fantastic season. Heading into this game with confidence and form, he could potentially be a match winner.
ST: Danny Welbeck
Arsenal’s striking position is a difficult one to decide upon as Olivier Giroud’s involvement in the side is tremendously undervalued. However, he’s now ten games without a goal, his worst run in an Arsenal shirt, so he shouldn’t play here.
Instead, Danny Welbeck should give Mesut Ozil a more direct option and the England international will look to continue his run of form having scored in two of the last three Premier League fixtures. Like Campbell, he’s another potential match-winner.
