For the first time this season, Arsenal and Manchester City go head-to-head as the FA Cup fourth-round tie falls 19 days before their eagerly anticipated Premier League showdown.
And Gunners manager Mikel Arteta is well aware of just how huge Friday night's fixture is: "Big match, big test for us against in my opinion the best team in the world," he said in the pre-match press conference. "Looking forward to it because it’s going to tell us a lot about where we are."
There's a strong argument that the winner of this tie will have the psychological advantage for the Premier League meeting in just under three weeks. If that is the case then it's important the Arsenal team selection is spot on as City's strength in depth was too much for Chelsea in round three.
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Even with Gabriel Jesus, Mohamed Elneny and Reiss Nelson ruled out, Arteta did confirm he has a near full-strength squad to select from at the Etihad Stadium: "No more news on the team, especially no more injuries," he said. "Obviously, there’s the two recruitments that we made in this window."
The two recruits being referred to are, of course, Leandro Trossard and Jakub Kiwior. As the pair are available for selection, it does present Arteta with somewhat of a team selection dilemma when also taking into consideration that a number of fringe players are also pushing for a start.
It's certainly a nice problem for Arteta to have. But with his side coming off wins over Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United as well as hailing Man City as the best team in the world, does he have cause to rethink his line-up?
Well, football.london's Arsenal writers Kaya Kaynak, Tom Canton and Tashan Deniran-Alleyne are on hand to offer their assistance to the Spanish tactician. Below, they name their respective starting line-ups for the visitors in the FA Cup fourth-round tie against Man City.
Kaya Kaynak - Chief Arsenal Writer
For most of this season, these reporters' XIs have been pretty easy to do. Arsenal's starting 11 has been so good and consistent that there hasn't been that much debate over who should play. For Friday's clash with Man City though, things are very different.
There are plenty who feel Mikel Arteta should go strong at the Etihad. Arsenal have an eight-day gap to their next match with Everton, so why not test themselves properly against their main challengers for the Premier League? Personally, I'm not one of those people.
I think Arsenal suffered last year from not using their squad players enough during occasions like these, meaning that when they came to rely on them later in the season, players like Albert Sambi Lokonga, Nuno Tavares and Rob Holding all came in cold. With the stakes much higher this year I'm not sure they can risk that again. The next game the squad players will get a chance to feature in won't be till March assuming they go out on Friday, so why not give them a run-out.
With that in mind I'm going for Matt Turner in goal and then a fully changed back four of Takehiro Tomiyasu, Rob Holding, Jakub Kiwior and Kieran Tierney. Some might say it's a lot to put Kiwior straight in at the deep end for his first start, but let's see what the Polish defender is made of.
Midfield is somewhere where it's a little trickier. As revealed by football.london Mohamed Elneny is likely to miss this game which means I'd start Thomas Partey. I like Albert Sambi Lokonga but I don't trust him to play six at the Etihad yet personally, so I'd bring him in for Granit Xhaka and then Fabio Vieira for Martin Odegaard.
Emile Smith Rowe is a player I'm a little worried about, given how little football he's played, but why not start him on the left and have him share the game with Gabriel Martinelli. On the right, Leandro Trossard would be my pick, and then Eddie Nketiah would play up top as I don't feel there's an out-and-out back up for him in the squad right now.
Kaynak's Arsenal XI vs Manchester City: Turner; Tomiyasu, Holding, Kiwior, Tierney; Partey, Lokonga, Vieira; Trossard, Nketiah, Smith Rowe
Tom Canton - Arsenal Writer
This is the trickiest XI to try and justify with how intriguing a fixture this is for Arsenal. Do you go strong knowing knocking out Man City provides a great run at the trophy and a psychological boost in the league or do you rotate to give others chances to stay warm in case they're needed and not give much away for the clash in a couple of weeks?
I have landed somewhere in the middle making six changes as opposed to making wholesale swaps. What helps is the additions of Leandro Trossard and Jakub Kiwior plus the return of Emile Smith Rowe make this a much more competitive side.
The problem position was defensive midfield with Mohamed Elneny out. Without risking the integral Thomas Partey, Granit Xhaka comes deep with a mental block stopping me from trusting Sambi Lokonga at the moment.
The benefit of having Smith Rowe back means he can be tried in midfield, and I would keep captain Martin Odegaard for further threat. Kiwior to play alongside a regular starter in William Saliba and the goalkeeper and full-backs rotating for the cup makes sense. However, what might actually happen is really anyone’s guess.
Canton's Arsenal XI vs Manchester City: Turner; Tomiyasu, Saliba, Kiwior, Tierney; Xhaka, Smith Rowe, Odegaard; Saka, Nketiah, Trossard
Tashan Deniran-Alleyne - Arsenal Writer
Manchester City away from home is a daunting prospect for any side in the world. And this is why Arsenal must go as strong as possible at the Etihad Stadium with rotation kept to a minimum. I do agree with Kaya's point that the fringe players need game time, but it's worth pointing out that a cup run would be more beneficial for them.
With that said, Matt Turner can return in goal as the 'cup keeper'. The USMNT ace hasn't put a foot wrong since completing his £7.5m transfer last summer and facing Man City will be his first big test. In front of him should be the back four that began the second half against Man United with Takehiro Tomiyasu getting the nod over Ben White.
Midfield is where Friday night's tie could be won or lost, so it would be ideal if the Gunners' best trio takes to the pitch. Mohamed Elneny's likely absence means Thomas Partey has to start alongside Granit Xhaka and captain Martin Odegaard as I don't think this is a game for Albert Sambi Lokonga.
In attack, Bukayo Saka and Eddie Nketiah are both in great form and Arsenal's chances of winning will be greater if they start. However, I can see Leandro Trossard coming in for Gabriel Martinelli on the left-hand side as the Brazilian has looked a bit off the pace recently.
Looking at the substitutes bench and in Emile Smith Rowe, Fabio Vieira and Martinelli, there's enough quality there if the Gunners are chasing a result. Alternatively, Kieran Tierney and Rob Holding offer defensive security if a lead needs to be protected heading into the closing stages.
Deniran-Alleyne's Arsenal XI vs Manchester City: Turner; Tomiyasu, Saliba, Gabriel, Zinchenko; Partey, Odegaard, Xhaka; Saka, Nketiah, Trossard
Who gets into your starting XI? Use our team selector below and leave a comment to have your say.
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