Arsenal vs Tottenham Predicted Starting XI: Olivier Giroud To Start

Granit Xhaka and Francis Coquelin

This is a tough one to call. I would absolutely love to see the potential Xhaka/Ramsey combination, but I also wonder if I will ever see that. Wenger has clearly made it a priority that Ramsey will play out wide and Coquelin and Xhaka will be manning the center of the pitch. No harm in that.

Controlling the center of the pitch will obviously be an important thing and Xhaka and Coquelin are fully capable of it. They can shut Alli down and control the pace of the game. But I wonder if Coquelin couldn’t do that himself. Or Xhaka himself.

I want to see Ramsey in that central role, yet I don’t see it happening this time around. Xhaka will return for his first North London Derby and, for as much as I don’t think his discipline is a concern, I do hope he can keep his emotions in check. I’d love to see him spider kick Dele Alli as much as the next guy, but probably not the most prudent course of action right now.

Coquelin though, will have himself a day. This is a man who has learned to funnel his emotions and passions into his play in a healthy way and it’ll be a thrill to see him take that to the next level against Tottenham Hotspud.