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Here’s Arsenal’s predicted starting XI, and the tactical briefing for Saturday’s Community Shield.
Arsenal look to set their 2020/2021 (there are way too many 20’s in that word) campaign off to a flying start, with a trophy in their first match. The only thing standing in their way is the Liverpool side that just won the league. No big deal, right? To make matters worse, the Merseysiders will be looking for a spot of revenge, after Arsenal’s shock 2-1 win ensured they would not be able to set the points or wins record for a single Premier League campaign.
It’s going to be a scary game, but the Gunners also have nothing to lose. Which means we can go totally balls-to-the-wall, which is exactly what we did back in July. I’m seriously excited.
Here is Arsenal’s predicted starting XI for the Community Shield, where we’ll look to double our advantage over England’s best.
Goalkeeper
Even if Bernd Leno is back to full fitness, Emiliano Martinez will start. He saved our bacon repeatedly last season, including against Liverpool. I’m excited to see him start, not in the least because I love him to absolute bits. Moving on.
Centre-Backs
This is the first key aspect of the tactical selection. Mikel Arteta will trust the guns that carried him through the restart, and line up in a 3-4-3 formation. However, I think the personnel will be slightly different.
The ever-present David Luiz will likely start though the middle, as that’s where he’s best. He was a mainstay of Arsenal’s backline, and I don’t see that stopping until Arteta switches to a back-four.
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From there, it’s slim pickings, due to various injuries. Pablo Mari is still struggling with a knee problem, and the last we heard from Shkodran Mustafi was that he had stressed his hamstring and would be unable to feature for the rest of the season. Given we don’t know the state of his health, I think he’ll be a no-show.
Rob Holding will fill in at right centre-back, given his experience in the position, and the fact that he’s actually healthy.
Left centre-back is a toss-up between William Saliba and Kieran Tierney. No, Sead Kolasinac is not in contention. No chance. Despite Tierney’s importance at wing-back, he will start centrally. We need his left-footed presence in the defense, and his mobility will help to combat the Mohammed Salah threat.
Wing-Backs
One of these picks is easy, the other, not so much.
Hector Bellerin will start at right wing-back. He’s the best we have on offer, and he’ll put in a shift for the team. He got a good run of form in towards the end of the season, and is starting to shake off the rustiness. Cedric Soares, despite his newly penned deal, is still second fiddle for the time being.
And Ainsley Maitland-Niles is nowhere near contention for the right-sided role….because he’ll be playing at left wing-back. I considered Bukayo Saka, but Arteta sees him as an attack-minded player, and the Spaniard trusted Maitland-Niles repeatedly towards the tail end of the season. Links to Wolves be damned, Maitland-Niles will start.
Both wing-backs will play a crucial role in this tie, mainly because of the prevalence of the Liverpool full-backs. They’re going to have their hands chock-full on the flanks, but as we know, they can handle it and come out grinning.
Central Midfielders
This is where the game will be won and lost. Liverpool’s midfield is often the lynchpin of their success, because of their ability to shuttle the ball between the flanks, drawing out opposing midfielders and creating gaps to attack through. However, Arsenal stymied that impulse by deploying a low-lying block, suffocating passing lanes and cramping their movement around the edge of the 18.
Granit Xhaka, as always, will start on the left side of the two. As in July, he will be invaluable to Arsenal’s success. If he keeps his head and stays on his feet, he can make life pretty uncomfortable for Liverpool’s forwards.
His long passing will also be a key asset in this game, given Arsenal’s pace up front. Expect Xhaka to link up heavily with Tierney and Maitland-Niles in the effort to find Aubameyang behind the Liverpool backline.
And on the right, Joe Willock will start over Lucas Torreira and Mohamed Elneny. It’s going to be a tough game for the young Englishman, as he will have to show a very high level of positional discipline, curbing his natural enthusiasm in favor of a far more patient approach. However, Arteta trusts him in the role and we’ll have to do the same.
Front Three
This was the hardest ask of all of the predictions. Well, one of the positions was.
On the left-wing, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang will get the nod. Was there ever any doubt? Our Gabonese talisman was the sole provider of most of the key goals last season. With a few weeks off under his belt, he’ll be fresh as a daisy and ready to tear it up.
Up front, Alexandre Lacazette will take precedence over Eddie Nketiah, and like the FA Cup Final, his off-the-ball presence will be key. Expect him to drop deep in a false-nine role, stunting Fabinho’s effectiveness on the game, and linking the midfield with the attack when Arsenal look to counter. This game will also be an excellent jumping off point in his fight to retain his place in the starting XI.
And now for the hard one. Arsenal have the choice of three incredibly skilled right-wingers, and each has quite a bit going for them. Reiss Nelson was the hero of our last game against Liverpool, feeding Lacazette for the first goal, and nabbing the second for himself. Nicolas Pepe provided key assists against a number of big opponents.
But it’s new signing Willian who will get the start. Mikel Arteta will turn to his veteran, with experience and a determined defensive work rate to fill in the gaps on the right side. Arsenal right-wingers seem to give Virgil van Dijk a serious headache, let’s hope the Brazilian can continue the trend.
With that starting XI, we have a serious opportunity to start the season off in magical fashion. Now all we have to do is wait, watch, and pray.