da dobrowin： After watching on from the stands at the weekend, Arsenal’s recently-appointed head coach Mikel Arteta will take the reins for the first-time when his side faces Bournemouth on Boxing Day.
da bet sport： The north Londoners battled to a 0-0 draw away against Everton on Saturday afternoon, and the clean sheet would no doubt have given Arteta some encouragement in terms of the defensive aspect of the game. But with the clash against the Cherries – a team that have already conceded 25 goals – the Arsenal boss will surely hope for some attacking improvements.
It will be his first chance to really stamp his authority on the side, and with that in mind, below is a look at how the Gunners might well line up in Arteta’s first official game in charge.
After keeping a rare clean sheet – their first away from home in the Premier League since their triumph over Newcastle – Bernd Leno will be hoping for similar levels of inactivity against Bournemouth. In front of him, Hector Bellerin’s return to full training could see him brought straight back into the line-up, with Ainsley Maitland-Niles dropping out.
And in midfield, Granit Xhaka could also move to a place on the bench, with Arteta demanding for intensity and energy in his managerial unveiling. Matteo Guendouzi’s greater propensity to get up and down the pitch – he averages 1.6 tackles and 1.4 dribbles per game – could see him get the nod therefore to partner Lucas Torreira.
Having been given the chance to shine against Everton, Reiss Nelson struggled to make the most of his opportunity, with fans of the north London side taking to Twitter to voice their frustrations with the academy product. That could see Nicolas Pepe return to the starting line-up, and the Ivory Coast international may be joined by Emile Smith Rowe, Gabriel Martinelli and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in attack.
Meanwhile, Mikel Arteta’s job at Arsenal may not be as difficult as it seems.