Arsenal vs Brentford: Predicted starting XI for League Cup opener

Wingers

I call them wingers, but we all know that they aren’t really. Our two wingers will most likely be Alex Iwobi and Danny Welbeck. The only potential variants are if Henrikh Mkhitaryan is healthy, or if Emery really wants to dive deep into the youth options out there, but I’m sure he still wants to win as comfortably as possible and Iwobi and Welbeck provide the best punch on the attack.

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Welbeck has steadily worked himself into being a regular presence off the bench for Emery, and that does come as a pleasant surprise given the competition he is faced with, but in the end, his work ethic and athleticism alone will always make him a viable option, and he will hope to prove even more of what he is capable of, and of what he wants, against Brentford.

Iwobi, meanwhile, is the player I am most excited to see. He has really started to settle into himself at the club, after two long years of being woefully inadequate, and that figures to keep rolling as he goes into this match against Brentford. Not a moment too soon, either, with Mesut Ozil really struggling to find himself in the new system.

It feels good to be excited about Iwobi again. Hopefully he doesn’t fade, and this is the real deal.

Finally, to a bit of a leap at No. 10 and striker.