Arsenal predicted lineup vs Leeds: Sambi & Smith Rowe rotation?

The Premier League’s festive period is in full swing with Arsenal right back into the thick of the action as they face Leeds at Elland Road on Saturday. Here is the predicted lineup.

Mikel Arteta has gone against the grain of late. Fielding the same team for three matches running, his immediate reaction might be not to fix what isn’t broken.

Playing every three days throws a small spanner in those works. The roaring success of two wins with two clean sheets by selecting this lineup can only be maintained for so long. At some stage he will have to shuffle up his pack.

How might he do so? The elephant in the room is Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, whose been exempt from the previous two squads and has a job on his hands to wrestle a spot back in the team having been stripped of the captaincy and still not being considered for selection. Lacazette was excellent in the 2-0 win.

Arsenal predicted lineup vs Leeds: Will Arteta bring Sambi & Emile Smith Rowe into the Premier League team for rotation?

In midfield Sambi Lokonga will be desperate for minutes having only touched the grass for nine minutes across the last four Premier League outings. With Thomas Partey not renowned for his fitness and Granit Xhaka only just back from months out with injury, he’ll be looking at some involvement.

One of the more interesting debates is what to do with the three men behind the striker.

Gabriel Martinelli’s goalscoring performance against the Hammers demonstrated a newfound maturity that makes him practically undroppable. Emile Smith Rowe, however, took it upon himself to remind the world of his brilliance after netting the clinching goal in that match to set up some healthy competition in attack.

Bukayo Saka could be the one to miss out simply due to him playing far too much football, although a glance at the fixtures shows that League One Sunderland are next up in a game where wholesale changes are expected. Can Arteta squeeze one more outing from the midweek lineup?

Goalkeeper & Defenders

Aaron Ramsdale (GK) – Didn’t have a great deal to do last time out. Will be hoping for more of the same and less of what Leno had to deal with at Elland Road last season.

Takehiro Tomiyasu (RB) – Absolutely rock solid, Tomiyasu is going to have to get a rest at some point having not missed a beat since signing on deadline day. Not here, though.

Benjamin White (CB) – No player in the squad has played more minutes than White this season, who looks set to come up against the side he won Player of the Year for en route to their promotion.

Gabriel (CB) – Made light work of Antonio last time out and alongside his fellow back four will be angling for another clean sheet against a side who can’t keep them.

Kieran Tierney (LB) – An entirely different left-back to Nuno, it takes some getting used to the differences despite both being attack-minded options. Tierney is much more solid though, and he looked closer to his best in midweek.

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Midfielders

Thomas Partey (CM) – That was much better from Partey in the Premier League. Again, he had to grow into the game and regain his confidence, but every aspect of his display showed more class as the minutes ticked on. Even the way he gets across the turf differs.

Does he need a rest? Probably, but Arteta might see the chance to get another start out of him here.

Granit Xhaka (CM) – It really would be an ideal time to bring Sambi Lokonga back in due to his greater mobility and press resistance against a full throttle Leeds side.

Won’t happen, though. Arteta loves his Xhaka too much.

Martin Odegaard (AM) – May have come out to account for rotation but Odegaard was the first to be withdrawn against West Ham which strongly hints towards his involvement in west Yorkshire.

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Forwards

Bukayo Saka (RW) – Sensational against West Ham. Absolutely sensational.

If there is anyone that needs taking out of the team briefly so he can get his feet up then it’s Saka, although nobody can perform the right sided role anywhere near as competently as him. He owns that flank and Arteta will be woe to leave him out.

Alexandre Lacazette (ST) – No Aubameyang, again. Not available for selection.

One of the more remarkable aspects of Lacazette’s performance was that he lasted to the 89th minute, which in this season at least is unheard of. If we’re looking for where Arteta might rotate, there is scope for Nketiah to come in.

However, it might be that he thinks he can get another 90 minutes out of eight of his players from midweek. One of those probably not being Lacazette.

Gabriel Martinelli (LW) – The same team again means no Smith Rowe, who will be gutted to miss out, but Martinelli can’t be left out after the performances he’s put in.

The scope is there for him to play centrally, although Arteta might not want to move him around when he’s playing as well as he is on the left.