Arsenal face AC Milan in their final game of the mini tournament in the December mid-season break. The Gunners will return to play Juventus at the Emirates this weekend which is scheduled to be the final friendly before the Premier League returns on Boxing Day.
Arsenal have kicked off their preparations well with a comfortable 3-0 victory over a Lyon side who would then beat Liverpool just a few days later. Many impressed in the game against the Ligue 1 side, including several youngsters who will hope to be rewarded with more minutes on Tuesday afternoon.
Mikel Arteta has the opportunity to somewhat experiment with his Arsenal team. However, if he is struggling for direction, the football.london writers are on hand to give their suggestions of who they think should get the nod as the Gunners attempt to win the Dubai Super Cup with a victory against Milan.
Tom Canton – Arsenal Fan Brands Writer
The big thing that is perhaps skipped over in looking ahead to Boxing Day is aside from the obvious absence of Gabriel Jesus, there is another regular starter that could not be ready to come immediately back into the fold. England’s elimination to France meant the club are welcoming back Bukayo Saka and Aaron Ramsdale to the fold but it also saw Les Bleus progress.
William Saliba, should France beat Morocco as they are expected to, would be in Qatar until at least the day after the World Cup final on December 18., meaning he’d return to the club at the earliest on December 20.
With this in mind, Ben White’s return to centre-half might be the way forwards, with Takehiro Tomiyasu potentially seeing a return against Juventus on December 17 at right back. Although the Milan game may come too soon, which would see Cedric start again.
Kieran Tierney continues at left-back whilst Oleksandr Zinchenko recovers from a tight muscle problem. The only other addition to the line-up from the Lyon game is Thomas Partey, who has already reintegrated.
Fabio Vieira again should start; he needs to continue to grasp the opportunity of this mid-season break having missed the preseason with an injury. His goal and assist against Lyon showed that opportunity.
The rest of the side relatively picks itself. As Arteta gets more senior players back, fewer opportunities for youngsters are sure to be given and so the likes of Lino Sousa, Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly, who impressed last week, should certainly be considered.
Canton’s Arsenal XI vs AC Milan: Turner; Cedric, White, Gabriel, Tierney; Partey, Lokonga, Odegaard; Vieira, Nelson, Nketiah
