This Friday Arsenal face their first team in the UEFA Europa League at the Emirates under Unai Emery.
Emery, who is no stranger to this competition, lead Sevilla FC to back-to-back Europa League crowning. The Spanish gaffer will face Ukrainian side Vorskla with the intent of continuing their 3 match winning streak.
Laurent Koscielny [Achilles], Carl Jenkinson [ankle], Maitland-Niles [fractured fibula] and Sead Kolasinac [knee] are all included in Arsenal's 25-man Europa League squad. Potential return dates 👇
— Ben Dinnery (@BenDinnery) September 18, 2018
Since Vorskla aren’t exactly a heavyweight side, so it wouldn’t be a surprise if we get to see some squad rotation. Senior players would most probably be benched as it wouldn’t be logical not to strain them ahead of the Premier League clash against Everton.
Here is the predicted lineup for Arsenal vs Vorskla:
Goalkeeper: Bernd Leno
This finally maybe the match where we would be seeing Bernd Leno start. There were questions if the German would start in Premier League as Petr Cech was having a pretty bad season with no clean sheets yet. Emery had also revealed that Leno would be his choice in Europa League.
Right-back: Stephen Lichtsteiner
The Swiss would be a smart choice in the line-up as it would be a first start for him. He shouldn’t be facing any trouble managing at right-back against Vorskla by replacing Hector Bellerin.
Centre-back: Rob Holding and Shkodran Mustafi
He could replace Sokratis Papastathopoulos in the centre-back in the lineup. The 22-year-old, who was called up to the main squad due to the injuries of the regulars Sead Kolasinac and Laurent Koscielny, is yet to make the starting line-up. Not much is known about his chances of making an outing but it would be vital to give Sokratis the rest he needs for the Premier League.
On the other hand, honestly, Emery doesn’t have much of a choice to replace the German centre-back. With the defense plagued by injury, one can only hope that his fitness gets him through the weekend as he’d be needed back to start against Everton.
On a brighter note, it would be interesting to see Mustafi take charge of the defense without his new partner.
Left-back: Nacho Monreal
Left-back – the achilles heel of Arsenal this season. The Spaniard is the only natural left-back in the squad. So far he has impressed everyone and would be a strong choice to make him play against Vorskla. Although there maybe sliver of a chance that Emery would bring in someone else to see how the Gunners would play without a natural left-back as to know what would happen without Monreal.
Central midfield: Lucas Torreira and Mohamed Elneny
The Uruguayan had been phenomenal in the few matches he played. Torreira could very well replace Guendouzi in the defensive midfield. This would be a good chance for him to prove his mettle and the rumor mill has said that it is near certain that he would find a place in the line up.
Arsenal really need to qualify for UCL this Europa league joke is not funny anymore
— Malcolm J (@Goonvich_) September 18, 2018
The Egyptian can fill in the shoes of Xhaka at the defensive midfield. It would be interesting to see Elneny play in Europa League of which he is quite familiar during his time in Basel FC. In my opinion he would be an asset for Arsenal in Europa League.
Right-Wing: Mkhitaryan
The Armenian was credited for boosting and upping the game for the Gunners in Premier League. Wasn’t a starter in BPL like many others in this squad. His coordination with the striker would be agile and quick. The game could revolve around his style of play.
Left-wing: Eddie Nketiah, Attacking midfielder: Emile Smith-Rowe
Eddie Nketiah and Emile Smith-Rowe were not present with the U-23 team against Blackburn on Monday which could mean a possibility of an involvement against Vorskla.
Forward: Danny Welbeck
Would be nice to see him take charge of the forward. Potential scorer in the fixture as he would be the one of the few senior players on the field. Could also double as a winger if a senior striker is brought in somewhere in the middle of the game.
With that said the squad is afresh with a new crop of players:
Leno – Lichtsteiner, Mustafi, Holding, Monreal – Torreira, Elneny – Nketiah, Smith-Rowe, Mkhitaryan – Welbeck
Formation: 4-2-3-1
