Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal are slowly drifting away from the top-4 in the points table, having picked up just a couple of league victories since the turn of the year. They are fresh from a loss at the Selhurst Park and are now in the sixth place, seven points off Manchester City in the fourth place with a game in hand. Wenger will want his side to qualify for the Champions League next season but will know they cannot afford any more slip-ups in the rest of the season.
But they face a tricky trip to the riverside when they face Aitor Karnaka’s Middlesbrough, who themselves are in a bit of a mess. They have picked up just four points in the last ten games in the league but are fresh from a draw against Burnley. They will hope to put in a similar performance and will try to steal at least a point from this tie. Here is the predicted lineup that Wenger might field for this tie:
Team News:
Lucas Perez, David Ospina, and Santi Cazorla are all ruled out for this game against Boro. However, Laurent Koscielny and Petr Cech have healed well and are expected to be back in action this weekend.
Expected lineup (4-2-3-1):
Defense:
With Petr Cech back in action, Emiliano Martinez should drop to the bench to bring Wenger’s first choice back on goal this weekend. Hector Bellerin and Nacho Monreal have had a torrid time recently but are the first choice for Wenger and should keep their places on either wing at the back for Arsenal.
Shkodran Mustafi has also not been at his best but he will hope to gather some form, playing alongside Laurent Koscielny, who is just back from an injury. Wenger will be able to field his first-choice back line after almost a month.
Midfield:
While Francis Coquelin has done a decent job even in this slump, Wenger has not been able to find an able partner for him in the midfield. He might use Aaron Ramsey alongside Coquelin to add some creatively to the midfield for this tie against a struggling side.
Attack:
English winger Theo Walcott has been terribly out of form but Wenger will keep his faith in him and should stick with him on the right wing. German playmaker Mesut Ozil had a forgettable night against Palace but will hope to have a better game this weekend. Winger Alexis Sanchez, who will be the danger man for Boro, has started as a winger in the last few games but Wenger might push him back into a false-9 role to arrest the slump.
This might see Alex Iwobi used on the left-wing for this tie. Olivier Giroud and Danny Welbeck have been decent but might only find a place on the bench this weekend.