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Arsenal players looking to impress during pre-World Cup friendlies

By on June 8, 2018

granit xhaka arsenal

The World Cup is just around the corner and some Arsenal players will continue preparations by playing friendlies for their countries over the coming days. We take a look at who might be involved, preview the games and provide some betting odds….

Switzerland vs Japan

Arsenal midfielder Granit Xhaka is certain to be involved when Switzerland take on Japan on Friday night as he’s been a key part of their team in recent years. Xhaka is often criticised by some Arsenal fans for failing to track runners or for his positional awareness but to be fair, he’s always impressed when playing for Switzerland.

Stephan Lichtsteiner – who completed a free transfer move from Juventus this week – is also expected to earn another cap for his country at right-back and Arsenal fans will be keen to see what their latest new signing has to offer.

Switzerland are the heavy favourites to win the game in Lugano and I like the look at them to win 2-0 at odds of 6/1.

Tunisia vs Spain

Arsenal left-back Nacho Monreal was surprisingly selected in Spain’s 23-man World Cup squad as he’s often been overlooked by his country in recent years. If any of our Spanish players were going to be chosen, you’ve have assumed it would be Hector Bellerin but he failed to make the cut while Monreal was given the nod. However, for me it’s fully deserved as Monreal has been one of our most consistent players in recent years. He may get a chance to impress against Tunisia on Saturday but the chances are Jordi Alba will be the first choice left-back in Russia.

You can get odds of 13/2 with 888sport for a 3-0 Spain win, which looks like a tempting bet to me.

Germany vs Saudi Arabia

Mesut Ozil would usually be a shoe-in to start in attack for the reigning World Champions but the Arsenal playmaker has been ruled out with a niggling back injury. Ozil missed our final four games of last season because of the problem and while some questioned the validity of his injury, it’s turned out to be far more serious than anyone anticipated. His participation in Russia isn’t in doubt as he’s expected to recover in time for their opener against Mexico on June 17th.

Germany are almost certain to win this game on Friday night as they have one of the strongest squads in the world and I’d back them to win 3-0 at odds of 8/1.