The Gunners can secure their place in the UCL knockout stage with a home victory.
Arsenal will face Lens in a Champions League game on Wednesday. The Gunners are close to reaching the competition’s knockout stage for the first time in seven years as they lead the Group B table with nine points.
Following a 1-0 victory over Brentford in the weekend, Arsenal return to the Champions League to face Lens, who are eager to stretch their run of consecutive Ligue 1 victories.
Arsenal lineup
We expect David Raya to return to Arsenal’s starting lineup after Aaron Ramsdale’s inconsistent display against Brentford.
In defence, Arteta will most likely stick to his four-man backline. Gabriel and William Saliba will continue to form Arsenal’s centre-back duo, while Ben White is expected to make his return to the starting XI after regaining full fitness. Oleksandr Zinchenko and Takehiro Tomiyasu can both play on the left flank, but the former seems to be Arteta’s preferred choice for European games.
In midfield, we expect Martin Odegaard to keep his place in the starting lineup after making his return from injury. The Norwegian star will most likely play alongside Declan Rice and Kai Havertz, who scored Arsenal’s late winner against Brentford on Saturday.
Arteta’s three-man attacking line is expected to be similar to his past choices for the European matches. Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli start on the right and left wings, respectively. Injury concerns regarding Gabriel Jesus convince us that Eddie Nketiah will start at Emirates on Wednesday.
Arsenal predicted XI vs Lens: Raya, Gabriel, Saliba, White, Zinchenko, Rice, Odegaard, Havertz, Martinelli, Saka, Nketiah.
Lens lineup
Lens starting XI vs Arsenal: Samba, Medina, Danso, Gradit, Aguilar, El Aynaoui, Abdul Samad, Frankowski, Stoca, Thomasson, Wahi.
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