Arsenal’s predicted XI vs FC Porto… Mikel Arteta makes one key change, ‘outstanding’ £21m forward is dropped

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After a brilliant run of wins in the league, Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal side now face a tough task against FC Porto in Europe.

Arteta will have been so excited to get Arsenal back in the Champions League knockout stages, and will now be hoping for a huge performance.

The Gunners travel to Portugal on Wednesday night for what should prove to be a very tough first leg.

Although they’re only sat third in the Primeira Liga right now, a disappointment by their standards, Porto could prove tough opposition to face.

It’s perhaps not a stylistic match up that suits Arsenal, and they will need to be at their very best.

That being said, TBR predict that Mikel Arteta will make just the one change to his Arsenal side that travels to Porto.

It perhaps feels harsh that any Arsenal player should be dropped right now following two away wins with an aggregate score of 11-0.

However, Arteta seems very likely to find a place for Jorginho’s experience in such a crucial away trip.

Mikel Arteta will need to lean on Jorginho at the heart of Arsenal’s midfield at Porto

Of course, that begs the question – who will drop out?

And although it’s a close call, we think Leandro Trossard will be dropped on this occasion.

With Jorginho playing in the six and Declan Rice moving to the left, it could also be Gabriel Martinelli or Kai Havertz that misses out.

But with Trossard a very useful option to replace Martinelli throughout the game, we think the ‘outstanding’ forward will be unlucky on this occasion.

In truth, it wouldn’t be a surprise if the £21m striker was Arteta’s first choice at Arsenal right now, but we think a specific game plan will be deployed for the away leg at Porto.

Injury update

In terms of Arsenal’s availability for the trip to Portugal, it seems as if all of Fabio Vieira, Takehiro Tomiyasu, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Gabriel Jesus could be in contention.

Arteta was slightly coy on the group’s fitness ahead of Burnley, and will likely provide further update in the coming days.

But it certainly wouldn’t be a surprise if a couple of those names were pushing for a start if fit.

All that being said, Micah Richards has admitted just how impressed he’s been with one Arsenal player this season.