Arsenal vs Chelsea predicted XI: It’s the final countdown

Arsenal’s season can end on a high note if they can take the FA Cup against Chelsea. Here is how they’ll likely line up to do so.

Finishing the Premier League season in eighth place is not nearly as bad as some fans are cracking it up to be. Arsenal was always going to hit a snag in replacing Arsene Wenger and most fans accepted that, but when it came to actually putting that understanding into practice, that’s another story.

Through it all, we still have the chance to come out of this season with silverware, which would be such a monumental success for Mikel Arteta. If he can pick up the Unai Emery pieces and get us a trophy, whatever naysayers still exist should be stamped out easily.

But first, we have to actually win that trophy. It was no easy feat getting here, as we had to go through Manchester City, which is testament enough in itself how excellent this team can be when they live up to expectations.

That will no doubt be forgotten if we can’t go all the way, however. So Mikel Arteta is going to pull out all the stops to ensure that we do. That means no playing around with what the future could look like and no experimentation. It’s time to buckle down with what has worked and build from there.

So let’s talk about how he will line up.

While he pulled out the 4-2-3-1 against Watford, it didn’t last long and I’d be incredibly surprised if he didn’t revert back to the 3-4-3 that he’s been leaning on, even with Shkodran Mustafi out until October with the injury he picked up against Manchester City.

Honestly, this predicted XI makes itself. I would be surprised if anything is different than what I’m about to predict.

We will start in goal.

Keeper

Strange to think that this could be Emiliano Martinez‘s last match in goal for Arsenal. He’s too good to fall back into a No. 2 spot but we definitely aren’t going to be parting with Bernd Leno. So decisions have to be made.

In the meantime, we can enjoy him for another 90 minutes of safe hands and security.

Centerbacks next.