Mikel Arteta poised to start £30m Arsenal ace in midfield vs PSG after fitness boost
Arsenal host Paris Saint-Germain in the first leg of the Champions League semi-final at the Emirates Stadium tonight.
The Gunners have exceeded expectations in the competition after a splendid 5-1 aggregate win over Real Madrid in the quarter-final phase.
Mikel Arteta’s side registered a 2-0 win over Les Parisiens in the league phase earlier this campaign.
However, the London giants face a much sterner challenge against a PSG side, who are one of the in-form teams in Europe at the moment.
PSG were without Ousmane Dembele and winter signing Khvicha Kvaratskhelia back in October. Arsenal need to be at their best tonight.
Ahead of the game, manager Mikel Arteta has a selection headache on his hands with Thomas Partey ruled out.
Partey picked up his third yellow card of the European campaign at the Bernabeu which hit the threshold for a one-game automatic ban.
In his absence, Declan Rice is likely to start as the holding midfielder.
The Englishman was superb as a number eight against Los Blancos, but will have more defensive duties.
Martin Odegaard will start in one of the central midfield positions as usual and looks poised to be accompanied by Mikel Merino.
Merino has been a revelation as a makeshift striker for the Gunners since Kai Havertz’s injury.
The Spain international has bagged six goals and four assists since mid-February.
Against Madrid, he made three goal contributions including assists for the goals scored by Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli at the Bernabeu.
However, he is expected to start in a deeper midfield role against PSG to compensate for Partey’s absence.
The £30 million-rated star was absent for the 2-2 Premier League draw against Crystal Palace last week with a knock.
However, he was back in full training alongside his teammates which has provided a huge boost ahead of the PSG showdown.
Merino will have a big part to play in winning duels. That is his main strength and he should relish the challenge tonight.
With Merino in midfield, it appears a no-brainer decision to start Leandro Trossard as the false nine.
The Belgian netted his maiden brace for the Gunners against Ipswich Town before scoring against Palace.
Trossard has found his scoring boots at the right time and should get the nod to lead the line.
Stats from Transfermarkt.com
