Predicted Arsenal XI vs FC Zurich: Odegaard & Vieira make up attacking midfield

Arsenal head into Matchday 6 of their Europa League group stage campaign knowing that victory against FC Zurich will see them automatically progress into the round of 16 of the competition.

They could’ve sealed their fate last week in Eindhoven, but they were soundly beaten by a determined PSV side who visit Bodø/Glimt in their final group game.

Despite last Thursday’s setback, Arsenal are odds-on favourites to claim victory against a side languishing at the bottom of the Swiss Super League. Still, Mikel Arteta won’t want to take any chances and thus, a strong Gunners XI is expected to be deployed at the Emirates.

Predicted Arsenal XI vs FC Zurich

Here’s the team Arteta could pick for FC Zurich’s visit on Thursday.

Goalkeeper & Defenders

Aaron Ramsdale (GK) – Matt Turner is yet to return to training which means Ramsdale should get another start in this competition.

Takehiro Tomiyasu (RB) – Tomiyasu has racked up plenty of minutes over the past month, but with Ben White unlikely to play and Cedric only making his first appearance of the season on Sunday, Tomiyasu should get the nod at right-back.

Rob Holding (CB) – Holding was poor against PSV last time out but it’d be a surprise to see Arteta go full-strength in defence on Thursday. It should be a quieter outing for the Englishman against Zurich.

Gabriel (CB) – William Saliba and Gabriel have rotated the minutes alongside Holding in Europe thus far. With Saliba starting last week against Eindhoven, we should see the Brazilian return to the Europa League XI.

Kieran Tierney (LB) – Oleksandr Zinchenko is nearing a return but he won’t be ready for this one. The patient Tierney will continue as the Europa League left-back.

Midfielders

Sambi Lokonga (DM) – Mohamed Elneny may well make Thursday’s squad and earn minutes off the bench. However, it’d be a surprise to see him start and thus, Lokonga should be given another chance to impress at the base of midfield. This is a big game for him.

Martin Odegaard (CM) – Odegaard’s brilliance has been subtle as of late. He’s impressed in spells. On Thursday, with Xhaka out, Arteta will be hoping his skipper takes control of the contest and spearheads an Arsenal victory.

Fabio Vieira (CM) – The playmaker was bright off the right in Eindhoven but he should return to midfield against Zurich. He struggled to connect and combine with Odegaard the last time they started together in the win at Bodø, but the pair should find it much easier on this occasion given the familiar environment.

Forwards

Reiss Nelson (RW) – Thankfully, Saka’s injury won’t see him miss any time and he could play on Thursday if needed. However, Nelson deserves to build on the momentum he gained with a brace against Forest and start this one.

Eddie Nketiah (ST) – This is a big game for Nketiah, who hasn’t performed particularly well in October. After starting this competition superbly, Eddie hasn’t scored in his last three group stage starts.

Gabriel Martinelli (LW) – The Brazilian got a little bit of a rest on Sunday as he was brought off in the second half with Arteta perhaps having one eye on Arsenal’s next two fixtures.