Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal will face Leeds United in the FA Cup on Monday evening.
Arsenal will be looking to build on their win against Manchester United in the Premier League on New Year’s Day with victory over Leeds United at the Emirates Stadium on Monday evening.
Normally the Gunners would not take the FA Cup seriously at this stage of the competition, but the match against Leeds at home comes at a time when manager Mikel Arteta needs a positive result which could boost their confidence for the second half of the season.
Arteta will have to balance his team selection, and against the West Yorkshire outfit, one could see a mixture of experienced players and young talents.
Emiliano Martinez is likely to start in goal, and he will have Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Shkodran Mustafi, Rob Holding and Bukayo Saka in front of him in defence.
Mustafi has been linked with a move away from Arsenal in the January transfer window, with The Mirror reporting that the defender who cost the Gunners £35 million when they signed him from Valencia in 2016 could leave due to his lack of playing time this season.
Holding has not started since November 6, but the 24-year-old central defender has recovered from his knee injury and could start, and so could 23-year-old Real Madrid-owned attacking midfielder Dani Ceballos, who has overcome his hamstring problem.
Nicolas Pepe is also likely to start, with Leeds head coach Marcelo Bielsa telling The Daily Star ahead of the match that the winger he signed for Lille is a “great player”.
This is how Arsenal are likely to line up on Monday evening:
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