Arsenal vs Cardiff City predicted starting XI: Mesut Ozil returns?

Strikers

No questions here. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette will both be starting, it’s just a question of in what capacity. As I’ve now gotten this far into predicting the starting XI, it’s too late to turn back and predict that anything other than a striking pair take place. Thankfully, I sincerely hope that is exactly what will happen.

These two are such a dynamic duo, but you have to trust them to (one last time) play to their strengths. That doesn’t mean putting Aubameyang out wide, that means putting him up front where he can combine to maximum effectiveness with Lacazette next to him.

Trust in the wingbacks to create havoc on the wings and feed the strikers and trust in Ramsey (or Ozil, God forbid) to bring up chances from behind. As long as these two are fed, unlike against West Ham, they will do what needs to be done and ensure that goals are scored.

Lacazette is going to be the true hero of this set-up, though, He’s been on a role lately, at least across the last two matches, and if he can continue that, he can provide a lot of the chances all on his own.