After being held to a damaging 1-1 draw against Burnley in the Premier League at the weekend, Arsenal return to action when they take on Olympiacos in the first leg of their Europa League clash on Thursday night.
Mikel Arteta’s side were of course knocked out by the Greek giants last year in this same competition, with a late goal from the visitors seeing their European hopes go up in smokes at the Emirates.
Which game would you rather win?
Olympiacos
Spurs
The Gunners boss also has to contend with the small task of a north London derby against Tottenham on Sunday afternoon, but there’s no questioning that he will look to go as strong as possible with his starting line-up tonight.
And, with that in mind, below is a look at how Arsenal might line up when they make the trip to face Olympiacos.
In goal, Bernd Leno will be looking to keep a clean sheet after his involvement in the Gunners’ defensive howler against Burnley last time out.
The back-four could see one significant change with Hector Bellerin returning at right-back after Calum Chambers was drafted in at Turf Moor, perhaps to deal with the physical and aerial threat of the Clarets.
In midfield, Thomas Partey and Granit Xhaka should continue their partnership in the engine room, with the former surely hoping to get to full speed as quick as possible after recently returning from injury.
Further forward, the £36m-rated Nicolas Pepe is surely in line for a return to the starting line-up after his lively cameo against Burnley – the Ivorian missed a glorious opportunity to score, before being involved in two controversial penalty incidents that failed to go Arsenal’s way.
Given Willian’s last Europa League display against Benfica, in which he helped inspire the Gunners’ comeback by assisting Kieran Tierney, it would be a big call from Arteta to drop him.
Up front, it’s a far easier decision, with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang once again leading the line.
Predicted XI: Leno; Bellerin, Luiz, Mari, Tierney; Partey, Xhaka; Saka, Odegaard, Pepe; Aubameyang.