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3-4-2-1: Sanchez starts? Lacazette dropped? The Arsenal XI that can beat Chelsea

By on September 15, 2017

alexandre lacazette

Arsenal will be desperate to make a statement of intent as we prepare to take on Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Sunday afternoon. Here is the team I’d like to see Arsene Wenger select….

Goalkeeper: Cech

Ospina once again proved that he isn’t an elite goalkeeper after making another mistake during our win over Cologne. I still can’t believe we let Szczesny leave and kept the Colombian midget. Anyway, thankfully Cech will be back between the sticks to face his former club this weekend.

Defence: Mustafi, Koscielny, Monreal

Koscielny will return from suspension to start at the back with Mertesacker dropping out while I think Mustafi should come in for Holding on the right-side of defence. The youngster really struggled last night and was replaced at half-time so let’stake him out the spotlight.

I’ve seen plenty of fans call for us to move to a back four and I do see the merits of doing so but let’s not forget we’ve beaten Chelsea on the last two occasions playing three at the back. So I’d stick with it on Sunday with Monreal once again starting on the left of the three.

Midfield: Bellerin, Ramsey, Xhaka, Kolasinac

Ramsey is expected to recover from a minor knock to start in midfield while Xhaka should also return after being rested for our outing in the Europa League.

I’m still not a huge fan of the Ramsey/Xhaka combination as it leaves the defence hugely exposed but it’s the best we’ve got right now – at least until Wilshere is fully match-fit anyway.

Attack: Ozil, Sanchez, Lacazette

What to do with Sanchez? Let’s be honest, he was dreadful for 60 minutes against Cologne but he showed us his quality by scoring a stunning goal. He’s clearly not at his best just yet but it’s impossible to leave a player of his quality on the bench for such a big game.

Ozil is facing a late test but he’s also expected to be passed fit from a minor injury so he should come in to replace Walcott – who was once again woeful last night.

Lacazette was inexplicably left on the bench for our last big away game at Anfield so I hope Wenger has learned his lesson. Our club-record signing HAS to start up front on Sunday.

Sadly that means Welbeck will be on the bench but he’ll be an excellent option to have along with Giroud if needed.

This would be my team on Sunday:

This is arguably our best starting eleven [not including Cazorla] so we have no excuses this weekend. If Wenger plays this side, I honestly think we’ve got a chance to get a positive result at the Bridge.