By Paul Stevens

Arsenal’s opponents Lille may have lost their opening Champions League fixture suffering not only a 3-2 loss but also having Ethan Mbappe sent off in the club’s opening-day defeat to Real Betis, but the French side have made a fine start to the season.

Lille currently sit second in the French Ligue 1, just a point off league leaders Monaco and currently sit four places and two points better off than perpetual winners PSG. With the Emirates Stadium hosting Lille on Tuesday night in an 8 pm kickoff, Arsenal fans will also warmly welcome back a former Arsenal favourite in Olivier Giroud who now plays for the French side.

This match will give Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta an opportunity to rotate his team ahead of the weekend’s Premier League clash away at Nottingham Forrest. I expect Viktor Gyokeres to start up front and after his heroics vs Leeds, Bruno Guimaraes should expect to keep his place in the side.

The pair’s inclusion could provide Arsenal with a new partnership in the attacking area. Guimaraes has a
much faster forward-thinking mind and often looks to get the ball forward quicker than many in the current Arsenal team. I think this element could unlock Gyokeres in a new way. During much of his time playing in Portugal with
Sporting, Gyokeres benefited from a front-footed approach which tended to feed him the ball quickly through the opposition’s defensive lines.

Player Focus

This week my ‘player focus’ centres on star winger Bukayo Saka. The Hale End hero will always be a fan favourite, though still has plenty of room for error with critics. In the past three games, the winger has not looked his usual self in front of goal. Big misses against Napoli, Brighton and Leeds have begun to create a pattern and it is important for Arsenal’s frail front line that their star boy starts firing again soon.

For many games now it has felt a goal is coming for Arsenal’s number seven, as he is consistently getting into good attacking positions but seems to be lacking confidence to take on his marker in 1-v-1 situations and we have yet to see his trademark left foot curling strike so far this season. His last goal for Arsenal was his 98th-minute penalty which sealed the points away at Sunderland. However, his last open play goal came all the way back on the 31st of August in Arsenal’s 1-0 away win at Villa Park.

The unfortunate side effect of Arsenal’s summer transfer window not bringing in the required attacking reinforcements, coupled with the injury to Tzolis, will mean much of the goal-scoring burden will once again fall on the shoulders of Bukayo Saka.

The Treatment Table

There was a very unfortunate incident captured by fans who stayed behind after the Leeds game. Piero Hincapie had to be carried off the pitch with a serious- looking ankle injury and is expected to miss the upcoming match. It was also widely reported that Martin Zubimendi suffered an injury during the same warm-down in which Hincapie sustained his injury, so he is also in doubt for the Lille game.

William Saliba will miss the game as he continues to step up his recovery from his long-term back injury, although it has been reported that the Frenchman is back training on grass. Christos Tzolis will also miss the match as the Greece international continues his recovery from his hamstring injury picked up in the Nations League.

For Lille, striker Hamza Igamane will likely miss the clash with Arsenal with a cruciate ligament issue. The previously mentioned Mbappe will miss the game through suspension and centre-back Tiago Santos will also miss out with a knee injury.

Predicted LineUp

While some of the Arsenal squad will continue to need rotation due to high workload, I fully expect Mikel Arteta to field a strong line-up for this match.

David Raya will be the chosen goalkeeper.

With the injury to Hincapie, who I would have expected to start this game, I think Arteta may opt to move Myles Lewis-Skelly into left back. Firstly, to reward the youngster with more first-team minutes but secondly, to protect Riccardo Calafiori. I expect the Gabriel Magalhaes – Ezri Konza centre-back partnership to continue and Ben White to keep his place in the starting eleven, although Jurrien Timber will need to share the minutes as the Dutch international gets back up to full fitness.

I expect the midfield to consist of Martin Odegaard in the most attacking role with a double pivot of Bruno Guimaraes and Declan Rice behind the Norwegian. In the front line, Bukayo Saka will play on the right side, Noni Madueke on the left and Viktor Gyokeres will likely lead the line.