Predicted Arsenal lineup and XI vs Athletic Club as Mikel Arteta makes Noni Madueke debut decision

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Arsenal face Athletic Club in the Emirates Cup on Saturday evening.

The clash against the Bilbao-based side will be the Gunners’ final of pre-season, before they travel to the north-west next week to take on Manchester United in the Premier League at Old Trafford.

Villarreal beat Arsenal 3-2 in N5 in Mikel Arteta’s team’s last game, and the Spaniard will no doubt be desperate for his side to return to winning ways on Saturday to improve the mood music around the club before the season commences.

Arteta will likely use this game to trial the starting eleven he intends to put out at Old Trafford, with a few new signings in contention to start.

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Predicted Arsenal lineup vs Athletic Club

Leandro Trossard suffered an injury against Tottenham in Hong Kong and missed the encounter against Villarreal.

It’s unclear if the Belgian will be fit enough to feature against Athletic Club, while Riccardo Calafiori’s fitness status is also not transparent.

It’s safe to assume neither will start as Arteta looks to roll out his fittest and most ready starting eleven ahead of the visit to Old Trafford.

David Raya will start in goal, with Ben White, William Saliba and Myles Lewis-Skelly almost cementing their positions in the back four due to their persistent availability in pre-season.

Gabriel Magalhaes looked rusty upon his return from injury on Wednesday, but could be in line for a start against Athletic Club to help him build his fitness.

In midfield, Arteta will likely reverse what he did in the Villarreal game, taking his back-up trio out and starting what is likely to be the first-choice three.

This means Arsenal fans will likely get a preliminary look at Martin Zubimendi, Declan Rice, and Martin Odegaard deployed together.

As for the front three, Bukayo Saka and Viktor Gyokeres will likely retain their places, as Arteta looks to instil some chemistry between the two.

Off the left, Noni Madueke will surely be given his full debut, given how Gabriel Martinelli has been performing in recent matches.

Predicted Arsenal lineup vs Athletic Club: Raya, White, Saliba, Gabriel, Lewis-Skelly, Zubimendi, Rice, Odegaard, Saka, Gyokeres, Madueke.

Noni Madueke needs to start on the left against Athletic Club

Arsenal’s left-hand side simply isn’t working at the present moment.

Martinelli is struggling to beat players on the inside and the outside, while the combinations between Rice or Mikel Merino and Lewis-Skelly aren’t functioning well.

Thus, a change needs to be made on that side, and Madueke represents Arteta’s best bet.

Ideally for the Arsenal boss, the England international starts in this role against United next week, and for him to do so, he needs to be given a run-out on this side on Saturday.

Madueke needs to start building relationships with his teammates and start understanding the team’s automatisms as soon as possible, so that he can hit the ground running in the league.