Arsenal host PSV Eindhoven at the Emirates Stadium in the second leg of their Champions League round of 16 tie on Wednesday night.
PSV were thrashed 7-1 by the Gunners in the first leg at the Philips Stadion last week.
A brace from Martin Odegaard and goals from Jurrien Timber, Ethan Nwaneri, Mikel Merino, Leandro Trossard and Riccardo Calafiori put the North Londoners in a commanding position.
With a place in the next round all but secured, Arsenal fans are already looking ahead to the quarter-final, where either Real Madrid or Atletico Madrid await.
Predicted Arsenal lineup vs PSV
Arsenal take on Chelsea in N5 on Sunday afternoon, a game Mikel Arteta will no doubt have in mind when selecting his team for the PSV match.
Aside from the long-term absentees, the Spaniard is expected to have an almost entirely fit squad to choose from.
Gabriel Martinelli returned to action against Manchester United, while Bukayo Saka is expected to feature again after the international break.
With PSV chasing down a six-goal deficit, Arteta is certainly likely to make wholesale changes.
David Raya will likely be one that isn’t rested, while William Saliba is an ever-present figure at the heart of Arsenal’s back four.
Alongside the Frenchman, Jakub Kiwior could come in to allow Gabriel Magalhaes a rest, while this could be the opportune moment to grant Ben White a first start since returning from injury.
At left-back, Calafiori started at Old Trafford, meaning it’s likely that Myles Lewis-Skelly will come back into the side.
In midfield, Jorginho can be expected to replace Thomas Partey, while the lack of viable Odegaard alternatives means the Norwegian likely has to start.
Meanwhile, Arteta suggested that Oleksandr Zinchenko can be deployed in midfield, and it would be no surprise to see the Ukrainian start as a left eight in this game.
In the forward line, the Arsenal boss has a few decisions to make.
Merino, Nwaneri and Trossard are all in need of a rest, although Arteta only has two more senior forwards to pick from.
Raheem Sterling wasn’t used at all against United but will surely start this game, while Martinelli should play to boost his fitness.
Arteta may use Kieran Tierney as a winger in this match to accommodate the Scotsman, which would mean one of Sterling or Martinelli would start up front.
Predicted Arsenal lineup vs PSV: Raya, White, Saliba, Kiwior, Lewis-Skelly, Jorginho, Zinchenko, Odegaard, Sterling, Martinelli, Tierney.
Mikel Arteta should trust a Hale End prospect to start against PSV
An alternative to using Tierney out of position is, of course, to use an academy player in the front three.
While Arteta didn’t rule this out for tomorrow, his track record would suggest he’ll refrain from doing this, at least until the tie is even more secure than it already is.
Speaking in his press conference on Tuesday afternoon, the coach said: “Yeah we did that once [use an academy player] when we could and it’s always great because they’ve been extremely helpful and they’ve been giving so much to the team.
“So whenever you have the opportunity to any player to say thank you or to give minutes, which at the end is the way of telling them we trust you and we appreciate what you do for us with minutes, we will do.”
It’d be no surprise to see the likes of Nathan Butler-Oyedeji or Ismael Kabia feature off the bench, although it would be a shock to see either start.
Tierney looked unnatural on the wing off the bench against United, and thus Arteta ought to trust a natural number nine in Butler-Oyedeji to start up front in a dead rubber clash at the Emirates on Wednesday.
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