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Giroud OUT: My Preferred Arsenal Starting XI To Take On Man City

By on March 28, 2014

Arsenal will look to put a disappointing week behind them as we welcome Manchester City to the Emirates tomorrow evening. Here is my preferred line-up for the game:

Goalkeeper: Szczesny has come under some recent criticism for his display’s and he hardly covered himself in glory against Swansea in midweek. However, we need to stick by him as he’s been excellent for much of the season.

Defence: Injuries mean we have few options but to play the same back four that started in midweek. Laurent Koscielny and Nacho Monreal are out, so Thomas Vermaelen will continue alongside Per Mertesacker while Kieran Gibbs starts at left-back.

Midfield: I’ve seen a few fans calling for Kim Kallstrom to start this weekend after an impressive cameo appearance off the bench against the Swans, but I think it’s far too early to throw him in to a game of this importance. For the third game running, I’m going to suggest we drop Mikel Arteta. The Spaniard’s legs ARE GONE. He’s knackered, and I think we could be in trouble if he’s put up against the likes of Toure and Fernandoinho tomorrow.

So let’s start Flamini alongside Rosicky and we’ll have a midfield two that’s full of energy and while they may not be able to match the City boys for power or physicality, at least they’ll be able to keep up with them.

Attack: I think it’s safe to say Lukas Podolski has played his way into the side after an excellent showing off the bench on Tuesday. He showed why he has to start, especially with Theo Walcott and Mesut Ozil out, as he provides us with a vital goal threat. The Ox needs to play for his pace and we’ll be looking for a lot more from Santi this weekend.

Striker: This might be controversial, but I’d go with Sanogo tomorrow. Giroud may have scored against Swansea but he was awful for much of the game. He looks lethargic and his touch and hold up play has been poor of late. Sanogo is fresh and will make runs that will cause problems to the dodgy Demichelis.

So that’s the team I’d go with. In reality, I wouldn’t be surprised if Arsene named an unchanged line-up with Arteta and Flamini in the middle, and Rosicky in the front three instead of Podolski, but we’ll have to see what he decides tomorrow.

What do you think of my team? What side would you put out?

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