Arsenal are in action in the Europa League on Thursday night and interim coach Freddie Ljungberg has made a number of changes to his line-up.
The Gunners won their first match under the Swedish tactician earlier this week with a 3-1 victory at West Ham United on Monday night.
SEE MORE: Arsenal plan talks with leading manager also linked with Manchester United
However, with the short turnaround in midweek as they headed off to Belgium, the temporary Arsenal boss has rotated his squad and handed several key players a rest perhaps with one eye on Man City at the weekend.
Further, given the unlikeliness of the Premier League giants crashing out as they need to simply avoid defeat to advance, while rivals Eintracht Frankfurt will need to win and hope they lose by five or more goals, it seems like an ideal opportunity for Ljungberg to give others a chance to impress.
That’s exactly what he’s done based on the XI below, as the likes of Reiss Nelson, Emile Smith Rowe and Bukayo Saka all get the nod from the start while Alexandre Lacazette will lead the line.
The likes of David Luiz and Sokratis are also included to add much-needed experience at the back, and so it remains to be seen if Ljungberg has got the right balance in order to secure the necessary result to see Arsenal advance.
With a hectic schedule ahead over the festive period, Arsenal will no doubt need to lean on their depth in the squad and they’ll certainly be hoping that they can come through unscathed this week with no new injury concerns.
? Here's our team in Belgium tonight…
?? @DMavropanos handed a start
?? @MatteoGuendouzi returns to the XI
??????? @ReissNelson9 and @EmileSmithRowe both start
?? @LacazetteAlex leads the line? #UEL
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) December 12, 2019
David Luiz, Joe Willock and Alexandre Lacazette return to the side after dropping out at West Ham.
Guendouzi is also back.#AFC @EuropaLeague pic.twitter.com/xyrYFACfyX
— Ben Dinnery (@BenDinnery) December 12, 2019