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Home   >   Opinions   >   [Image] Ozil axed, Aubameyang & Iwobi start | Arsenal’s best line-up to face Leicester

[Image] Ozil axed, Aubameyang & Iwobi start | Arsenal’s best line-up to face Leicester

By on April 27, 2019

Arsenal can move back into the top four with a win over Leicester City at the King Power on Sunday lunchtime. This is the line-up I’d like Unai Emery to select…

Goalkeeper: Leno

Bernd Leno was at fault for two goals during the 3-1 defeat at Wolves but he’s otherwise been in excellent form in recent months so he should keep his place ahead of Petr Cech tomorrow afternoon.

Defence: Sokratis, Koscielny, Monreal

I’m not sure why Emery moved away from the back three/five and went with a four against Wolves but it didn’t work so I hope we revert to our usual system against a dangerous Leicester side.

Nacho Monreal no longer has the legs to play as a left-back but he’s a solid left sided centre-back in a back three so I’d deploy him alongside Laurent Koscielny and Sokratis. The Greek international was poor against Wolves but hopefully it was just a rare off-day.

Shkodran Mustafi is a walking disaster so I wouldn’t have him anywhere near the Arsenal first team. The sooner he leaves the club, the better.

Midfield: Maitland-Niles, Xhaka, Torreira, Kolasinac

Aaron Ramsey has been sorely missed in the last two defeats and sadly he won’t be available tomorrow either. Granit Xhaka was disappointing last time out but I still think he offers more to the team than Matteo Guendouzi or Mohamed Elneny so he should keep his place.

mesut ozil arsenal 2018

Lucas Torreira hasn’t quiet been the same player we saw during the first half of the season as his level seems to have dropped lately but we’ll need a big performance from him in front of the defence against Leicester on Sunday.

Sead Kolasinac has been one of our main threats going forward in the left wing-back position so I think he should be recalled while Ainsley Maitland-Niles is far more suited to the wing-back role than he is as a traditional right-back.

Attack: Iwobi, Aubameyang, Lacazette

Regular readers will know I’m a big Mesut Ozil fan so this is difficult for me to say but I think he needs to be axed tomorrow. Arsenal have not won an away league game with Ozil starting since mid September – which is staggering when you think about it – and his form away from the Emirates has been woeful all campaign. So it would be too big a risk to start him in this must-win fixture.

I’d use Ozil as an impact sub and I’d probably go with Alex Iwobi over Henrikh Mkhitaryan as he brings something different to the side. Iwobi’s final pass can be frustrating at times but his direct running with the ball is a big asset.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is back in contention after missing the Wolves game with a sinus problem. Ordinarily I’d like to see him playing alongside Alexandre Lacazette up front but it may be more prudent to line-up with just one striker – especially when we don’t have the ball.

Therefore, I’d go with Aubameyang on the right and Lacazette through the middle against Leicester. With Iwobi supporting them, we’d have the likes of Ozil and Mkhitaryan as game-changers from the bench if needed.

This is the starting eleven I hope we’ll see:

football formations