It’s not an understatement to say that Arsenal‘s trip to Goodison Park to face Everton on Saturday has taken on titanic proportions.
In the space of a week, the Gunners have been eliminated from both the FA Cup—surprisingly, at the hands of Watford—and from the Champions League, admittedly, in less of a surprise, after a 5-1 aggregate defeat by Barcelona.
With those two avenues for glory closed off for Arsene Wenger and his troubled North London heavyweights, attention must turn back to the league, where Arsenal find themselves a whopping 11 points behind leaders Leicester City.
It’s not impossible that the Emirates Stadium giants can turn it around—particularly as they still have a game in hand on the Foxes—but they will surely need to rely on a slip up by Claudio Ranieri’s side.
Similarly, the Gunners will need a win against Everton, and will have to do so without some key men.
With Petr Cech still out with a calf injury, David Ospina will continue between the sticks, while Ignacio Monreal, Laurent Koscielny, Per Mertesacker and Hector Bellerin will complete the defence.
The no-frills duo of Mohamed Elneny and Francis Coquelin will likely anchor the midfield, and they certainly impressed against Tottenham Hotspur, at least until the latter’s sending off.
Expect Olivier Giroud to lead the line, supported by Danny Welbeck, Mesut Ozil and Joel Campbell.
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Alex Iwobi impressed after being given the chance against Barcelona, but will likely drop back down to the bench, while Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Santi Cazorla, Aaron Ramsey and Jack Wilshere all remain sidelined with injury.