Arsène Wenger has named an attacking lineup as his Arsenal team go up against his former side Monaco in the Champions League. Youngster Francis Coquelin is named as the side's sole defensive midfielder, and will be flanked by the rather more attack-minded Santi Cazorla and Mesut Özil. Kieran Gibbs and Héctor Bellerín both return to action as full-backs.
Monaco get defensive with their lineup, Arsenal attacking
Arsène Wenger is going for broke against his former club.
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Monaco’s major selection surprise is that of young right-back Fabinho in the centre of midfield. That’s presumably a defensive decision, though one also perhaps necessitated by an injury to the natural midfielder Bernardo Silva. Full-back Layvin Kurzawa and winger Yannick Ferreira Carrasco also miss out, while 18-year-old Almamy Touré is thrown in at the deep end at right-back. Let’s just hope his direct opponent isn’t Alexis Sánchez (who has played on both the left and right this season), or things could start to get ugly.
Arsenal (4-3-3): David Ospina; Kieran Gibbs, Laurent Koscielny, Per Mertesacker, Héctor Bellerín; Santi Cazorla, Francis Coquelin, Mesut Özil; Alexis Sánchez, Olivier Giroud, Danny Welbeck.
Monaco (4-3-3): Danijel Subašić; Elderson Echiéjilé, Aymen Abdennour, Wallace, Almamy Touré; Geoffrey Kondogbia, João Moutinho, Fabinho; Anthony Martial, Dimitar Berbatov, Nabil Dirar.
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