MIKEL ARTETA faces the dilemma of whether to prioritise the league or Arsenal’s favourite trophy.
The Gunners are sitting pretty at the top of the Premier League ahead of Manchester City, but Arteta must decide whether to prioritise his squad in the league or play strong in the cup.
Pep Guardiola, Arteta’s tutor, has a far deeper squad than his counterpart for tonight’s clash.
And changes are likely to occur to the lineups of both sides in a pseudo-dress rehearsal for when the pair clash for a major title battle in the league at the Emirates on February 15.
Arteta has already realised the psychological advantage a win here might have on the clash in a few weeks time.
He said: “Big match, big test for us against in my opinion the best team in the world. Looking forward to it because it’s going to tell us a lot about where we are.”
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Consequently, Arteta may line up his Arsenal side similarly to his league team.
However, Thomas Partey’s integral part in the team could see him rested along with the injury-prone Oleksandr Zinchenko, while there are generally a lack of high-quality options in the attack.
Arteta confirmed Gabriel Jesus, Mo Elneny and Reiss Nelson were all out of the tie, but hinted new boys Leandro Trossard and Jakub Kiwior may feature.
Trossard has already seen involvement for Arsenal after impressing fans with a short cameo against Manchester United.
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His quality and versatility can give the attack some much-needed respite, though his preference for the left means he is more likely to replace Gabriel Martinelli than Bukayo Saka.
Kiwior may feature in place of Gabriel, with Arteta wanting a left-footed CB on the left side.
But if Kiwior comes into the fold Arteta may wish to play it safe by preserving his strong spine by playing both Partey and Zinchenko.
A number of fringe players are also pushing for starts, which could prompt calls for the likes of Takehiro Tomiyasu, though cup keeper Matt Turner will all but certainly play.
Emile Smith Rowe is slowly returning to fitness and will likely feature in some capacity, but it would be a surprise to see him from the start due to having just 16 minutes under his belt since Christmas.
Arsenal’s next game after the FA Cup clash will be in a week’s time against struggling Everton – who could enjoy a new manager bounce with Sean Dyche set to be appointed.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
