Pain in the Arsenal
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Arsenal Vs West Ham United: Predicted starting XI – Future of the defence

By Andrew Dowdeswell

LONDON, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 13: Arsene Wenger, Manager of Arsenal looks on prior to the Premier League match between West Ham United and Arsenal at London Stadium on December 13, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 13: Arsene Wenger, Manager of Arsenal looks on prior to the Premier League match between West Ham United and Arsenal at London Stadium on December 13, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images) /
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Arsenal, Mohamed Elneny
LONDON, ENGLAND – DECEMBER 07: Mohamed Elneny of Arsenal celebrates after scoring his team’s sixth goal of the game during the UEFA Europa League group H match between Arsenal FC and BATE Borisov at Emirates Stadium on December 7, 2017 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Matthew Lewis/Getty Images) /

Central Midfield

This is where injuries in the first team have an effect on the options that Wenger wants to use.

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Given that all of the players that have featured prominently in the Carabao Cup and Europa League this season are supporting those playing in the Premier League, whenever injuries occur to the starters, one or two are bumped up the pecking order somewhat. It happened with Per Mertesacker when Shkodran Mustafi missed time with a thigh injury; it is happening now with Jack Wilshere and Aaron Ramsey.

Wenger confirmed that Ramsey will be unavailable for selection until January. That means that Wilshere will play a heavier role in the Premier League over the festive period. So resting him in a lesser fixture is essential.

That means that the limited duo of Mohamed Elneny and Francis Coquelin will continue to anchor the midfield, with Wenger shuffling his attacking options. Both are perfectly adequate squad players. They are, for now, little more. But in a match like this, they should be fine.