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Attendance: 21,797
Standard Liege
Europa League | Group Stage
Dec 12, 2019 at 5.55pm UK
 
Arsenal logo

2-2

Bastien (47'), Amallah (69')
FT(HT: 0-0)
Lacazette (78'), Saka (81')

How Arsenal could line up against Standard Liege

Sports Mole looks at how Arsenal could line up for Thursday's Europa League clash with Standard Liege.

Arsenal will look to build on Monday's 3-1 victory over West Ham United when they meet Standard Liege in the Europa League on Thursday.

The result ended a spell of nine games without a victory and would have given the players some much needed confidence following a difficult couple of months.

Freddie Ljungberg's side must simply avoid a heavy defeat in order to be guaranteed of qualification, meaning that this game does not have any real pressure riding on it.

Here, Sports Mole looks at how the Gunners could line up for this game.


POSSIBLE ARSENAL XI v STA

Out: Dani Ceballos (thigh)
Doubtful: Rob Holding (knee), Hector Bellerin (thigh), Granit Xhaka (head), Kieran Tierney (shoulder)

> Click here to view Arsenal's full list of injuries and suspensions ahead of the meeting on Thursday.

With Arsenal only needing to avoid a 5-0 defeat to qualify, Ljungberg can take the liberty of resting a number of key players ahead of the hectic Christmas schedule.

That said, the manager will be reluctant to take too many risks at the back given Arsenal's dire recent record at the back, and as such looks likely to start Shkodran Mustafi and David Luiz, who did not feature against West Ham.

Following injury to Tierney - the severity of which remains uncertain - it looks as if Sead Kolasinac will get a chance from the start at left-back.

In a toss up between Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Calum Chambers, Ljungberg seems more likely to go with the latter to complement the more attacking influence of Kolasinac on the other side of defence.

Xhaka is set to miss this game due to suspected concussion, which means that Matteo Guendouzi comes into the team as a straight swap to partner Lucas Torreira, who has started in Arsenal's last pair of fixtures.

For a game like this, it makes sense for Ljungberg to call on the youthful attacking midfield vanguard of Reiss Nelson, Joe Willock and Bukayo Saka.

Willock and Nelson, despite their young age, are well versed in this competition, clocking up 21 Europa League appearances between them, while Saka has impressed down the left this season.

Linking it all together will be Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who was on the scoresheet again on Monday and seems to be undroppable in this kind of form.

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Freddie Ljungberg pictured on November 27, 2019
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