Arsenal vs Sheffield United predicted XI: Make it two in a row

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Arsenal, Granit Xhaka (Photo by CATHERINE IVILL/POOL/AFP via Getty Images) /

Central Midfield

Again, just not a whole lot of options here. There’s Granit Xhaka back to health, but he looked pretty beat by the end of the Southampton match. Did he get enough recovery time to get his best legs back underneath him? Doubt that. But can we do better than a half-talk Xhaka? Doubt that as well.

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So expect to see him out there.

Next to him we have even more questions to ask. Dani Ceballos? Matteo Guendouzi? Lucas Torreira? I don’t know where Torreira is, so unlikely he’ll suddenly appear. Ceballos has been incredibly ineffective since the restart and that’s showed no signs of getting any better.

But then you have to go with Guendouzi. Who’s been tremendous since the restart, but he was completely left out against Southampton after choke-holding Neal Maupay.

Who wins out? My guess is Guendouzi. He wants back out there, so I have to imagine that he’ll be willing to work with Mikel Arteta to get there.

And at No. 10? I’m getting bold and predicting the return of Mesut Ozil. With Sheffield a defensive juggernaut, we’re going to need some pinpoint passing and that is the one thing Ozil does well. Plus, he was on the bench against Southampton. So he’s moving on up.