The return of Jack Wilshere comes on a desperate Saturday afternoon at the Emirates where both Arsenal and the visitors West Ham, are craving three points. Another week down in the Unai Emery era means another week of his methods being drilled in on the training field so the fans should expect to see more of an improvement again, as week on week, the players are exposed to more and more. However, change doesn't happen overnight and much like us getting used to seeing Emery in the dugout, the players need time to adapt to the new regime.
After an up and down ninety minutes against Chelsea last time out, Arsenal should be looking to steady the ship and be consistent throughout the entire match. Concentration levels dropped which allowed Alonso to slip into the box and score which ultimately lost a valuable point - this needs to improve as a minimum. As an ideal maximum, Aubameyang and Lacazette will both get off the mark and the likes of Ozil and Ramsey will get into the creative mood. One key area that is constantly under the microscope is the centre of midfield where, I expect to see Lucas Torreira start from the off. Although he's yet to play a complete game, he's been the most impressive in terms of breaking up play and holding at the base of a midfield two (or three). This will allow the equally impressive Matteo Guendouzi to do less breakup play and more of what he does best; box to box dynamism and utilise an engine that can go the distance. After another week off the pace, Granit Xhaka and Mesut Ozil could both miss out and start from the bench. It's about time that the midfield reverts to a true three, and with the likes of Welbeck, Lacazette and Iwobi all now pushing for starts and pitch time, it is likely that we'll see a change or two. No one forward thinking player has really impressed as of yet. So for Emery, it's all to do.
The visitors are also in a similar position having endured an awful start to the season. But, unlike seasons gone by, West Ham now have a good and highly experienced manager at helm so I don't anticipate panic just yet. Pellegrini's dangerman is Marko Arnautovic and much like last week he will be looking to score and cause the Arsenal defence an issue or two. He's strong, bullish and a good finisher so Mustafi and Sokratis need to be fully aware. At the back is where West Ham's biggest problems lie and I foresee our forwards causing havoc. Little Premier League experience in the Hammers' back line suggest that their struggles will continue and will ultimately (and hopefully) mean that the points stay in North London.
Expected lineup:
GK: Petr Cech
RB: Hector Bellerin
CB: Shkodran Mustafi
CB: Sokratis
LB: Nacho Monreal
CDM: Lucas Torreira
CM: Matteo Guendouzi
CM: Aaron Ramsey
RW: Henrikh Mkhitaryan
ST: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
LW: Alex Iwobi
Prediction: 3-1 win, Auba finally getting off the mark, with a goal from Ramsey too.
@craigbennett10
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