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Arsenal boss to hand duo surprise starts vs Chelsea

By on May 27, 2017

david ospina arsenal

According to the Mirror, Arsene Wenger has made two huge shock selection decisions ahead of Arsenal’s FA Cup final against Chelsea this evening.

The newspaper says that Wenger has decided to go with David Ospina in goal while Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain will start in the un-familiar left wing-back role.

Ospina played in the early rounds of the FA Cup but didn’t feature in the quarter-final due to injury while Petr Cech was selected for the semi-final win over Lincoln City.

Our No.1 has been in fine form recently and was expected to be given the nod to face his former club in the FA Cup final at Wembley this evening.

However, the Mirror claim that Wenger has inexplicably decided to hand Ospina the gloves – much to the bemusement of the rest of the Arsenal squad while Cech will no doubt be devastated by the news.

Ospina has publicly declared his unhappiness at the club and is expected to complete a move to Turkey once the season is over so it makes no sense at all to upset Cech and start an inferior keeper for ‘sentimental’ reasons.

Arsene has often played his second choice keepers in the FA Cup – including the finals – as Lukasz Fabianski kept his place in 2014 FA Cup final while Wojciech Szczesny played in the final the following year.

If Ospina was committed to the club you could forgive Wenger for starting him today but he’s not. He’s leaving, and Cech has been in superb form recently so it’s a bizarre decision by Arsene.

To make matters worse, he’s weakening our goalkeeping department at a time when we’re going to have to play a patched-up defence as Mustafi is expected to join Koscielny and Gabriel on the sidelines.

alex-oxlade-chamberlain arsenal

Wenger has also made a questionable choice on the wings as the Mirror claim Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is going to start ahead of Kieran Gibbs on the left side later today.

Both players have been passed fit after recovering from injuries but Gibbs is the more suited given he’s left-footed and has experience in the role. The Ox may be a better footballer and was excelling on the right, he has no experience in the left wing-back role so it’s another huge call from the boss.

Personally, given the state of the back three we’re expected to field [Mertesacker, Holding and Monreal], I think it’s another unnecessary risk from Wenger.

Let’s hope his decision pay off as discontent among the supporters will only grow if we get hammered today and Ospina drops a clanger.

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