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Rookie starts, duo return in 4-3-3: My Arsenal XI vs West Ham

By on April 4, 2017

alex-oxlade-chamberlain arsenal

Arsenal desperately need to get back to winning ways when we entertain West Ham at the Emirates on Wednesday evening.

This is the team I’d like to see Arsene Wenger go with….

Goalkeeper: Martinez

Unfortunately it seems Ospina has joined the injury list [see full report here] after picking up a back injury during the draw with Man City so with Cech also on the sidelines, Wenger has little option but to hand Emi Martinez his first league start of the season.

Defence: Bellerin, Mustafi, Gabriel, Gibbs

The back four has been woeful in recent months so the last thing we needed was to lose our best defender but sadly Koscielny is now facing a spell on the sidelines with an Achilles injury.

Gabriel filled-in surprisingly well during the second half against City so he’ll join Mustafi in the middle of defence tomorrow night. Bellerin wasn’t at his best at the weekend but he’s still our best full-back so hopefully he’ll put in a better display against the Hammers.

Where’s Gibbs? He was out before the international break with a foot injury but he wasn’t involved against City despite not being on the official injury list and Wenger hasn’t mentioned him in his press conferences for a while. If Gibbs is fit and available then I’d like to see him start tomorrow as Monreal hasn’t been in top form for months.

Midfield: Xhaka, The Ox

Once again our midfield failed to control the game on Sunday and it was just another example of how much we’re missing Cazorla. The Xhaka-Coquelin combo doesn’t work for me and thankfully it looks like Coquelin is a doubt as he wasn’t in training today.

Oxlade-Chamberlain and Ramsey are back in contention after recovering from minor injuries that kept them out of the City game so I’d like to see The Ox alongside Xhaka tomorrow night.

Danny Welbeck

Attack: Walcott, Ozil, Sanchez, Welbeck

Ozil came in for more unnecessary criticism at the weekend and while he was far from his best, he did put in a decent shift and worked hard for the team. The German playmaker is a key player for us when we’re playing well so let’s hope he get’s back to his best against the Hammers.

Sanchez will obviously keep his place in attack as he’s our best player while I’d like to see Walcott retain his position on the right as he once again proved he’s a goal threat with a strike against City.

Welbeck looked a little rusty at the weekend, which is understandable given how much football he’s missed, but I’d give him another start up front with Giroud used as an impact sub.

Perez is still out with a thigh injury but we’ll still have the likes of Iwobi and Ramsey as well as Giroud to use from the bench.

This would be my line-up: