The Gunners return to league action with Ozil, Aubameyang and co in fairly good form after a convincing mid week win in the Europa League. Alex Lacazette comes back into contention following European suspension as Arsenal welcome Southampton to the Emirates on a sunny Sunday afternoon.
Having dropped all three points away on the south coast before Christmas, Unai Emery and his men will be looking for redemption. Southampton sit 18th, a point from safety so they'll be hungry for points. On the flip side, Spurs losing, Chelsea not playing and United facing Liverpool gives Arsenal a good chance to make up some ground and put the pressure on their rivals with a win.
Bernd Leno will return in goal having sat out the Europa League game on Thursday night whilst Ainsley Maitland-Niles remains a doubt following an illness. Ahead, Unai Emery has almost everyone else to choose from. Laurent Koscielny was withdrawn in midweek (but is expected to be fit) and was replaced by the fit again Sokratis so even at centre back, the man in charge has options. In midfield and attack, the shape is the only real question as Emery has plenty at his disposal. One of his star strikers could miss out as he could look to accommodate Mesut Ozil at number ten once again. We've learnt that although pretty unpredictable, Emery is unlikely to pair his strikers together with Ozil in behind. He just doesn't go all out to start.
After losing to Cardiff last time out, the visitors are desperate for points. They have a tough run of fixtures to come but could be confident after dispatching a poor Arsenal side earlier in the season. Midfielder Mario Lemina and forward Danny Ings remain out for the Saints whilst Stuart Armstrong and youngster Michael Obafemi are rated as 50-50 ahead of kick off.
Expected lineup:
GK: Bernd Leno
RB: Stephan Lichtsteiner
CB: Sokratis
CB: Shkodran Mustafi
LB: Nacho Monreal
CM: Lucas Torreira
CM: Matteo Guendouzi
RW: Henrikh Mhkitaryan
CAM: Mesut Ozil
LW: Alex Iwobi
ST: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
Prediction: 3-1 to Arsenal with another clean sheet missed but all three points staying in London.
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