Arsenal travel to the north-west to take on Manchester United at Old Trafford on Sunday.
Mikel Arteta has several key team selection decisions he has to make for the clash, including who starts in the full-back positions, at left wing and up front.
Viktor Gyokeres is likely to lead the line after scoring against Athletic Club last time out, while this game may come too early for Noni Madueke, who is still getting up to full fitness after returning to training late, meaning Gabriel Martinelli will likely retain his place.
The full-back roles are more of an open question, with Ben White, Jurrien Timber, Riccardo Calafiori and Myles Lewis-Skelly all fighting for a starting berth.
Adrian Clarke says Mikel Arteta should start Riccardo Calafiori against Manchester United
At right-back, Arteta may opt for White, with Timber only just recovering from ankle surgery he underwent during the off-season.
However, at left-back, the Spaniard has a more difficult decision to make.
Lewis-Skelly ended last season brilliantly, shrugging off competition from Calafiori, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Kieran Tierney to cement himself as the default starting option in the latter stages of the Champions League.
However, the Hale End star endured a difficult pre-season, while Calafiori impressed against Athletic Club last week.
Former Arsenal player and now pundit, Adrian Clarke, thinks Arteta should pick the Italian at Old Trafford, despite describing Lewis-Skelly as ‘brilliant’.
“I’m really loathed to leave out Myles Lewis-Skelly, because he’s so, so brilliant and we love him, and he was fantastic last season,” he said.
“But, I really enjoyed watching Calafiori against Athletic Club and he seemed to sort of unlock that left hand side with a bit of chaos, a bit of carnage.
“I really like the positions he takes, I like the dynamism and I do think his height as well could be an asset in the game. So I would go with Calafiori at left back in this particular game.”
Mikel Arteta should start Myles Lewis-Skelly against Manchester United
While Calafiori did unlock Arsenal’s left-hand side against Athletic Club, and the former Bologna man does generally ignite the offensive side of the Gunners’ game, Arteta should lean on Lewis-Skelly against United.
Bryan Mbeumo is expected to start as the Red Devils’ right forward, and the Cameroonian showcased how dangerous he can be for Brentford last season.
As unpredictable as he can be in attack, Calafiori often struggles to deal with elusive wide men who can run at backlines with pace.
Mbeumo is capable of exactly that, and thus Arteta should go for the conservative option in Lewis-Skelly, who can deal with Mbeumo’s threat.
If the Gunners negate United’s new big-money signing, then they have an excellent chance of completely silencing Ruben Amorim’s attack.
If they need to change the game late on, then they can introduce Calafiori as an impact substitute.
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