‘Fantastic’ player starts at right-back, no Tomiyasu: Predicted Arsenal XI vs Wolves

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Arsenal return to action in the Premier League after a break of over two weeks and they take on Wolves at Molineux.

The Gunners were absolutely outstanding in December but their January was a woeful one. Mikel Arteta’s men are yet to win a game in all competitions in 2022, which is not a good record at all.

Arsenal will be looking to bounce back and Wolves are not an easy side to face. Bruno Lage’s men have won four of their last five league games and a win tonight will push them above Arsenal in the Premier League table.

So, how will Arteta set his team out? We think he’ll make three changes.

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Predicted Arsenal XI vs Wolves

Arsenal were without Takehiro Tomiyasu, Thomas Partey and Granit Xhaka when they faced Burnley over two weeks ago. Ben White started at right-back which opened the door for Rob Holding to slot in at centre-half.

Tonight, we expect White to return to his natural centre-back position alongside Gabriel Magalhaes and in front of Aaron Ramsdale. Kieran Tierney will start at left-back, while as Tomiyasu is unlikely to be fully fit, Cedric Soares, labelled as ‘fantastic‘ by Gilberto Silva, could get a run out in the Premier League.

We expect Granit Xhaka and Thomas Partey to come straight back into central midfield in place of Albert Sambi Lokonga and much to Arsenal fans’ frustration, Emile Smith Rowe.

Arsenal’s front-four is a predictable one. Gabriel Martinelli will start on the left, Bukayo Saka on the right, Martin Odegaard at number 10 and captain Alexandre Lacazette is set to lead the line at Molineux tonight.

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Arteta was hopeful about Tomiyasu’s return in his press conference yesterday but considering that the Japan international has only been spotted in training once in over two weeks, he’s likely to miss out. That is a big blow for Arsenal.

The other interesting selection dilemma is between Smith Rowe and Odegaard. Both players have been absolutely outstanding for the Gunners this season, but Arteta has preferred the latter and we don’t expect that to change tonight.

After Manchester United and Tottenham both slipped up this week, Arsenal have to get a positive result to boost their top-four hopes. Wolves will make it extremely difficult for the Gunners, but if they want to be in the Champions League next season, these are the type of games they’ve to win.

If Arsenal’s front four of Saka, Odegaard, Martinelli and Lacazette play well tonight, they should be able to come away with a win.

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