Premier League 2018/19: Arsenal’s expected lineup vs Fulham

TheSportsRush brings Arsenal’s expected lineup vs Fulham, as Unai Emery’s side aim to continue on their winning run.

Arsenal has been in sublime form since their two opening losses in the Premier League to Man City and Chelsea. Unai Emery’s side are yet to drop points in the Premier League, are currently on an eight-match winning streak.

The Gunners cruised to a 3-0 victory over Qarabag in the Europa League last night and maintained their place at the top of the group. Arsenal won their match despite having missed their 3 star players for the match: Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Aaron Ramsey.

Arsenal youngster Emile Smith-Rowe shined for the team against Qarabag, and even scored a goal. The club’s two new signings, Sokratis and Matteo Guendouzi also bagged their first goals for the club.

Arsenal will now return to Premier League action where they aim to extend their winning run to 9 games. They travel to Craven Cottage on Sunday where Unai Emery’s men take on Fulham.

Here’s how we expect Unai Emery would play against Fulham:

Goalkeeper: Bernd Leno

An injury to Petr Cech in the last weekend’s Premier League fixture against Watford makes Bernd Leno a guaranteed starter for the match. Leno had been impressive for Arsenal against Qarabag, and denied them big goal-scoring opportunities throughout the match.

This would be Leno’s first-ever Premier League start.

Defence: Bellerin, Sokratis, Mustafi, Monreal

Hector Bellerin and Shkodran Mustafi are expected to return to the starting XI. The duo didn’t feature against Qarabag, and Stephan Lichtsteiner and Rob Holding replaced them.

While Holding looked impressive, it is unlikely that he will feature against Fulham, as fatigue can be a major factor.

Midfield: Xhaka, Torreira

Arsenal can play a two-man midfield against Fulham. As with Holding, Emery could keep Guendouzi on the bench as he played 90 minutes in the mid-week game in Europa League.

Granit Xhaka and Lucas Torreira could make up the midfield for Arsenal.

Attack: Mkhitaryan, Ozil, Iwobi

Alex Iwobi has been a revelation for Arsenal ever since the arrival of Unai Emery. He is expected to start for the Gunners, as there are still doubts over the availability of Aubameyang.

Also read: Arsenal transfer news: Deal in place to sign Miguel Almiron 

Unai Emery spoke before the match against Qarabag that the forward is sick and did not travel with the squad. Henrikh Mkhitaryan could also return to the squad, as he didn’t travel to Azerbaijan due to the country’s political tensions with Armenia.

Mesut Ozil can play at the centre of the park.

Forward: Alexandre Lacazette

Lacazette could resume as the leader of the attack. The Frenchman has been in good form, and has consistently scored and created chances for Arsenal throughout the season.

Arsenal’s expected lineup vs Fulham: