Arsenal's predicted line-up against Atletico Madrid
Arsene Wenger will be managing in one of his last few European matches this Thursday as Arsenal prepare to face Atletico Madrid. The French manager has never won a European trophy with Arsenal and will be eager to get his hands on the Europa League trophy before he leaves his position.
Wenger's side enter the first leg knowing that they must not concede any goals.
During the weekend game, the first-choice backline warmed up ahead of the match and partnered David Ospina as Petr Cech missed out due to a hip injury. Alexandre Lacazette and Danny Welbeck were also given a run out to prepare for the upcoming major home match.
Unfortunately, Arsenal lost Mohamed Elneny halfway through the match. Skysports mentioned that the midfielder rolled his ankle and things were not that serious. However, Wenger contradicted the report by saying that his injury did not look good, during the post-match press conference. The Egyptian midfielder is set to miss this Thursday's match as a result of the injury.
Arsenal have won six of their European games this season. Here is how they could line up in a 4-2-3-1 formation against Atletico Madrid as the Gunners attempt to advance to the final to be held in Lyon.
Goalkeeper: David Ospina
Ospina looks far more confident than Cech between the sticks. He was forced into a few brilliant saves over the weekend at the Emirates Stadium and can be proud of his performance.
The Colombian has a long-pass accuracy of 83% and makes an average of 5 saves per game. He has played in most of the Europa League fixtures thus far with the exception of the recent matches against CSKA Moscow. In eight appearances, Arsenal have kept 3 clean sheets and conceded just seven goals.