Heading into Monday, Arsenal face off against West Ham while sitting 11th in the table. The Hammers are 16th and with a win against the Gunners could go level on points with their London rivals. West Ham only have one win in their last nine matches, but that came against 4th place Chelsea.
Freddie Ljungberg has now overseen two matches and several training sessions. The side has given up four goals - to Brighton & Norwich - while struggling to create enough quality chances of their own. In desperate need of three points, Freddie must be more aggressive in attack, while continuing to change the team to build a stable defense.
Check out the gallery below for the predicted starting XI.
Notes on the XI
- The defense continues to give up goals to teams from the bottom half of the table. Against Brighton, Sead Kolasinac was the only defender that had you could argue had a decent match. If Rob Holding is over his knee bruise, I’d rotate him in with Calum Chambers. BThe backline should be tweaked until Ljungberg can find a CB pairing that can prevent the easy mistakes and keep up with an attacking Arsenal side.
- Due to the short turnaround, I think Freddie will rotate Kieran Tierney in at left back, while sticking with Hector Bellerin, who needs to get back to form. His partnership with Pepe on the right side is key to getting Arsenal back to winning ways.
- A midfield three instead of two with an attacker in front (Ozil) should help offer more protection for a struggling Arsenal defense, while also providing pace to assist in the attack. With Xhaka sitting in front of the centerback pair, Guendouzi and Willock can work with the wide attackers while also covering when the fullbacks press forward.
- Up top, despite his recent goals Alexandre Lacazette has been unable to regularly hold up play, bring others into attack, and set up chances. Instead, Ljungberg should opt for a front three which has pace and likes to go at defenders - Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, with Nicolas Pepe and Reiss Nelson on each flank.
Bench
- Emiliano Martinez
- Sokratis
- Sead Kolasinac
- Lucas Torreira
- Gabriel Martinelli
- Mesut Özil
- Alexandre Lacazette
How to watch
Monday (12/5) at 3:00 pm ET / 12:00 pm PT on the NBC Sports Network.