Arsenal have enjoyed a solid start to their season so far, but there are doubts as to whether the Gunners will be able to challenge for either the Premier League or indeed the Champions League title this season, due to their inexplicably ever growing injury list allied by the lack of strength in depth present in their squad.
Arsenal were woeful against Dortmund last week
While Arsenal’s start in the Premier League has been decent, the Gunners put in an insipid performance against Borussia Dortmund in their first group game clash in the Champions League and are now in a desperate need for a win when Turkish side Galatasaray pay a visit to the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday night.
Galatasaray have always been a tough team to play against and it will be no different for Arsenal in midweek as the Turkish side possess a very strong team with a couple of fantastic players.
Goalkeeper
Szczesny will have to be on the top of his game on Wednesday night
Wojciech Szczesny has been very solid so far this season and will be hoping to continue his fine run of form against Galatasaray as well.
Szczesny is sure to be in for a tough evening as the likes of Umut Bulut and Goran Pandev are very dangerous in front of goal and it will be interesting to see how the young Pole will manage to negate the threat posed by such a quality attacking lineup.
Defence
Chambers will continue at right back in the absence of Debuchy
Mathieu Debuchy and Nacho Monreal are definitely ruled out of the clash which means that manager Arsene Wenger could go with an unchanged defensive lineup to the one that started against Tottenham on Saturday.
Laurent Koscielny and Per Mertesacker are certainties to start in central defence while the young duo of Calum Chambers and Kieran Gibbs also look set to retain their places in the full back positions.
Isaac Hayden and Hector Bellerin will be waiting in the wings if in case there is an injury to anyone of Arsenal’s defenders leading up to the match.
Midfield
Wenger is presented with a real headache in selection in midfield as no less than three of his first choice midfielders will be unavailable for the clash against Galatasaray in midweek.
Aaron Ramsey, Mikel Arteta and Jack Wilshere all picked up injuries during the weekend and are unlikely to feature in the Champions League clash.
As a result, Mathieu Flamini looks a certain starter for the Gunners and it will be interesting to see whom Wenger decides to go with to partner the Frenchman at the middle of the park.
Captain Mikel Arteta set to miss the clash due to injury
Tomas Rosicky looks the most likely candidate while Abou Diaby and Francis Coquelin are also central midfielders by trade and could be in contention.
There is also an option of using Santi Cazorla or Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain in a deeper role as the duo have played centrally before.
On the wide positions, Alexis Sanchez should be recalled to the starting lineup while Oxlade-Chamberlain looks set to continue on the opposite flank.
The absence of Ramsey will mean that Mesut Ozil will be deployed in his favourite playmaker position down the middle and the German superstar will certainly be hoping to put in a much more improved performance than he did against Dortmund last week.
Attack
Welbeck will be leading the line for Arsenal once again
With Olivier Giroud and Yaya Sanogo out with injuries, Danny Welbeck will be surely leading the line for the Gunners.
Welbeck has looked bright for Arsenal in his first few matches but now needs to be more prolific in front of goal, especially for an important Champions League match.
Lukas Podolski and Joel Campbell will also be in contention for the clash and will undoubtedly be hoping for starts as well.
