The Premier League is finally back on Friday night, and for the second year in a row, Arsenal open proceedings against a newly-promoted team from west London.
Last year, the Gunners hammered Fulham 3-0 on the opening day, and they’ll be hoping for a similar result this time around against Brentford.
The Bees will be bang up for this one, it’s their first-ever game in the Premier League, and Thomas Frank’s side will be desperate to claim a big scalp and give their fans a moment they’ll remember for the rest of their lives.
However, Arsenal will have something to say about that, but in order to get a result, Mikel Arteta will need to make the right call in terms of team selection.
With that in mind, we’ve had a go at predicting Arsenal’s starting XI for this one…
We expect Mikel Arteta to hand out two debuts to open the season here.
Bernd Leno starts in goal, while Calum Chambers gets the nod at right-back, amid reports Hector Bellerin wants to leave.
£50m man Ben White starts alongside Pablo Mari at the back, while Kieran Tierney starts on the left.
Due to an injury to Thomas Partey, Arsenal are rather light in midfield so Albert Sambi Lokonga and Granit Xhaka start in the middle of the park, despite the fact Xhaka has consistently been linked with a move away.
Nicolas Pepe and Bukayo Saka start on the wings, while Emile Smith Rowe plays after signing his new deal.
Club captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang starts as the centre-forward in this side.
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