Arsenal’s starting lineup against Sheffield United as Mikel Arteta names a different XI from the XI that won Newcastle last week- £55M star dropped to bench as £30M man starts
Arsenal vs Sheffield United – Premier League
Arsenal take on bottom of the table Sheffield United on Monday night
Mikel Arteta has a strong squad at his disposal
The Canaries can write English football history with a big win
Arsenal travel to Bramall Lane on Monday evening to take on relegation-threatened Sheffield United in the Premier League.
The Gunners could become the first club in English Championship history to win three straight away games by at least five goals, following convincing victories against West Ham United (6-0) and Burnley (5-0).
Another loss would also consign Sheffield United to history. The Blades lost their last two games at Bramall Lane to Aston Villa and Brighton by the same 0:5 margin – no English team has ever lost three times at home by a five-goal margin.
Here’s the Arsenal line-up that Mikel Arteta could line up with on a historic night.
Arsenal starting eleven against Sheffield United (4-3-3)
GK: David Raya – Arsenal goalkeeper says: “My story is not a typical footballer’s story.”
RB: Ben White – White is a fan of the card game Uno (more than football) and is very competitive off the pitch. “I want to win in everything I do,” he told The Guardian. “My wife and I play a lot of games at home and I’m not going to let her win.”
CB: William Saliba – “We don’t play just to be there, to stay calm,” Saliba said of Arsenal’s title ambitions. “We want it.”
CB: Gabriel – The last time Gabriel made a mistake that Opta classifies as a mistake that directly leads to a goal was in October 2022.
LB: Jakub Kiwior – Michal Hanek, Podbrezov’s assistant coach when Kiwior was at the club, told the BBC: “I asked him what he had for lunch. He said, ‘Doughnuts with jam. It was funny and I laughed a bit, but then I explained to him that as a professional you can’t eat doughnuts for lunch.” I’m glad that’s been cleared up.
CM: Martin Odegaard – Over dinner with Arsene Wenger, Odegaard reflected on his teenage years before joining Real Madrid. “Is he analyzing me now?” he recalls thinking. “Will he judge me if I eat French fries?”
CM: Declan Rice – Arsenal’s new passing specialist has made four assists in six league games this calendar year, more than he has made in all of his 83 previous competitive appearances.
CM: Kai Havertz – When Havertz was 17 years old and on his way into the Bayer Leverkusen first team, he bought himself a “nice backpack”. Havertz realized that the shiny white and gold number was “a bit too cool” and “not for me”. It allowed him to come back to reality – and his sister Lea got a new bag.
RW: Bukayo Saka – Saka has scored as many goals as the entire Sheffield United team (seven) this calendar year.
ST: Leandro Trossard – The Lego enthusiast built a replica of the Taj Mahal while in prison.
LW: Gabriel Martinelli – “He had a wish,” says Martinelli’s father. “Nothing like that was lost. He went at every ball like it was his last meal.” The same can be said today.