Arsenal vs Fulham Predicted XI & Tactics: Start as You Mean to Continue

Start as you mean to continue. It’s an old adage, but true.

There would be no better way to begin this Premier League campaign than with three points cashed. This season will likely test the true mettle and skill of the squad, especially as we approach the dreaded November/December period, and we’ll take all the morale boosts we can get. This Arsenal squad needs to make a statement against Fulham.

Arsenal have a 9-2 aggregate score over Fulham in their last two meetings. As my colleague Ross so eloquently noted, the last time we played at Craven Cottage, it felt like we had our Arsenal back.

On this Saturday of all Saturdays, we need to prove it’s true. In our last decade of opening matches, we have won three, drawn three, and lost four. Of those ten games, two were against “Big six” sides. That’s abysmal.

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The last time we opened against Fulham, it was a very uncomplicated 2007 team. David Healy put the Cottagers 1-0 up in the first minute, but a comeback started by Aleksandr Hleb and completed by the Dutchman-who-shall-not-be-named gifted Arsenal a 2-1 win.

I’m hoping for something a little bit more dramatic this time out, with three points staying in north London. It might not be a 5-1 drubbing, but this Arsenal team have the tools to put an absolute beatdown on an admittedly strengthened Fulham side.

Let’s get into the starting XI, beginning of course, with the rock of the team.

Goalkeeper

I can’t believe I’m having this debate. Under normal circumstances, this choice would be easy. But it’s not.

For one, we have two starting-caliber keepers at the club. That fact alone is absolutely insane. But Mikel Arteta fully intends Bernd Leno to be his number one choice at keeper, a viewpoint he has held since the German got clattered by Neal Maupay in that Brighton game.

Unfortunately, UEFA Nations League qualifying might throw a wrench in that plan. Because Arsenal players have played as recently as the September 8th, there’s a chance they may not feature on the 12th against Fulham.

However, given the fact that it will have been six days since Germany played Switzerland, I predict Leno will start. He returned to full training, and has started (and played damn well) during the week. Our number one is back baby.

Centre-Backs

I said the last decision was tough. I now realize that’s relative. This is a serious poser, especially in terms of tactics.

Arsenal’s backline is, in a word, injured. Pablo Mari, Calum Chambers, and Shkodran Mustafi are busy rehabilitating in order to fight their way back into the Starting XI. Sokratis is a non-factor. And now David Luiz has picked up a potentially very serious knock as well.

Thank you David Ornstein. Rob Holding will start against Fulham, a mantle that he certainly deserves, despite inheriting it by default. But the glut of injured centre-backs creates a serious problem: can Arsenal play in a back-three?

Survey says yes. Despite the fact that Arsenal will certainly look to control possession against Fulham, they are not comfortable enough to start in a back-four. The 3-4-3 is our best formation going forward, despite some of the tactical disadvantages that might come against the Cottagers. Expect a scrappy affair.

Flanking Rob Holding in a back-three will be William Saliba and Kieran Tierney. Similar to the Community Shield and FA Cup, Tierney’s long-passing will be instrumental in the incumbent victory, fingers crossed. Despite his recent Scotland match, he’s too important to this team.

And of the remaining centre-backs, William Saliba has the greatest chance of being match-fit, considering he’s been training with the Gunners for a week, far more than new boy Gabriel Magalhaes. He’ll feature on the right.

Wing-Backs

I’ll keep this brief. Hector Bellerin will start on the right. His pace will be key to breaking the press, and recovering against the lightning-quick Fulham counter attack. He’ll also be important going forwards – he’s begun to look more like himself in that regard. But the right side isn’t our problem spot.

Ainsley Maitland-Niles earned his first senior cap for England on September 8th, and I’m seriously chuffed for the young man. But four days between matches likely means he won’t be able to play against Fulham. And because I don’t trust Sead Kolasinac every time he touches the ball, Bukayo Saka will start, mostly because we have no other options.

Saka, along with England Under-21 teammates Reiss Nelson and Eddie Nketiah, featured on September 4th and 7th, but I think the five-day gap will be enough for him to start. On to the midfielders.

Central Midfield

This pairing is a reasonably easier prediction. Mikel Arteta’s 3-4-3 system does not work without the hero of Switzerland, Granit Xhaka, in the left-center role. He will start, despite his recent games in Europe.

But who will his partner be? The debate comes down to two people: Mohamed Elneny and Dani Ceballos. Elneny was a fantastic performer for us against Liverpool, and looked much stronger in his passing than I’ve seen from him before.

On the other hand, Ceballos is Arteta’s boy. He fought Real Madrid and Real Betis, but has secured another season-long loan for his countryman. However, I think Elneny is the more likely of the two to start.

Ceballos has just returned to Arsenal, and as a result, won’t have built up the return to fitness that the Egyptian possesses. Elneny has also been exceedingly prominent in Arsenal training, as the staff focused on his through passing and line-splitting balls in a recent video. It may be controversial, but I think the former Basel man will get the nod.

Front Three

At least one of these fellas is a shoo-in. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang will start on the left-flank and I’m awfully excited for it. He’s been in flying form, and there isn’t anything to suggest that will stop.

The striker position is also easily rationalized. Given the France-based players have been released from their quarantine, and trained for the last week, Alexandre Lacazette will start. Due to Nketiah’s international contributions, he will take a week to return to full contention.

But again, the right-wing is a battle of two. Willian and Pepe arrived to Arsenal training around the same time, the Brazilian a few days earlier. And it’s training that will actually settle this one for me.

In their most recent video, Pepe, Ceballos, and Gabriel were all placed on the same team, and trained against a number of the academy players and reserves. As a result, I’m convinced they’re in the position where they need to build up fitness. Gabriel won’t start, nor will Ceballos, which means Willian wins the winger battle. His first game in the red-and-white will be against a London club.

And hey, just for s**ts and giggles, I’m doubling up. If Arteta reverts to a back-four by some miracle, the front-three will not change, nor will the back-four, assuming Bellerin starts at right-back. He will only make that change if Bukayo Saka cannot start, in which case, expect a midfield of Xhaka and Elneny, with either Willock or Ceballos ahead of them. God please, let Saka start.

Lacazette will be key in possession, as per normal. Expect Saka – when he starts – to tuck into the midfield a-la Maitland-Niles in possession, allowing Tierney more space on the left. I’m certainly optimistic about our chances, especially since Arteta has plugged some of the leaks during away games. Let the season begin!