Previews

I have a Diaby theory, hear me out. If Abou Diaby plays as the deepest midfielder rather than his usual box to box then Arsène is grooming away in the hope that he can stay fit. The only possible available spot in our first team would be Arteta's role, right? So gradually bringing him back slowly and playing him as the defensive midfielder when Flamini and potentially Coquelin are on the pitch tells me that Arsène is planning something. If he plays box to box then maybe, just maybe Abou is playing out his final few months with us. We know how much Arsène loves a bit of Abou (and rightly so in my opinion) so I wouldn't be so sure.

We know that Arsène doesn't tend to stray too far away from his starting 11 if fit but when they've played a lot of high energy games in a short space of time he usually always rotates the squad somewhat. I full expect to see that rotation take place this afternoon. We have at least three players who could be considered as first team players who should be as fit and fresh as a fiddle. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Tomas Rosicky and Santi Cazorla will be hopeful to get a rare start this season. I'd be very surprised if none of those players started today. Personally I'd take Aaron Ramsey and Mesut Özil out of the firing line. It was those two players who were sacrificed when Arsène made his first substitutions in Germany so that might be an indication as to what Arsène might do. Santi Cazorla is higher up Arsène's pecking order than Tomas Rosicky but I think the latter would be a better fit if replacing Rambo. Rosicky is very good at pressing up the pitch and we could do with that today.

Borussia Dortmund have plenty of injury problems of their own which is heartening. Mikel Arteta and Kieran Gibbs will almost certainly come back into the team which will give the side a little more freshness. Freshening up the side is something that the boss will have to carefully consider. Against Manchester City on the weekend, the players gave a lot and it may well be a lot to press in the same

Mikel Arteta will almost certainly come back into the team in place of the erratic Mathieu Flamini. Cazorla, Alexis, Oxlade-Chamberlain and perhaps Mesut Özil are vying for the two wide places while you would assume that Danny Welbeck will start at centre forward. Yaya Sanogo is also in contention after his three goals for the French u21s

With the return of Aaron Ramsey and Arsene's choice to have Wilshere and Aaron either side of a more defensive midfielder it will be interesting to see what Arsene does with Santi Cazorla who was fantastic against Besiktas on Wednesday. Mesut Özil will be wide left and the Ox on the right gives

You'd imagine that Matty Flamster will continue to replace Mikel Arteta, especially as he had a decent enough game at Goodison Park at the weekend. Jack Wilshere could replace Aaron Ramsey with Mesut Özil back in the number 10 position but I just had a streak of fear flash across me. Can you get a streak of fear? Let's run with it anyway. What if Arsène is adamant that we stick to the 4-1-4-1 and selects his team based around that? Which would mean Mesut Özil continuing in a wide role and perhaps someone like Tomas Rosicky coming in for Aaron Ramsey dropping Santi Cazorla to the bench. It will be interesting to see if the 4-1-4-1 is here

In midfield Arsène needs to find someone to replace Mikel Arteta at the base of our midfield. Mathieu Flamini and Calum Chambers are the most likely choices. If Per Mertesacker is not ready or if Koscielny is rested due to a persistent achilles problem then that choice gets removed. Mesut Özil could return to the team if ready and that could see the side switch back to a 4-2-3-1. Would Wilshere be the one to miss out? or would Arsène risk asking Ramsey and Wilshere to share that responsibility?

Kieran Gibbs is out for three weeks with a hamstring strain which is so very Arsenal. Let's hope Shad and his team are on hand to not turn it into an even more Arsenal two months. Nacho Monreal who did well when he came on last weekend will continue in Gibbo's place. Laurent Koscielny makes the trip which allows big Per Mertesacker his extended rest. New boy Calum Chambers will have another taste of what life is like at a big club with his first Champions League match of his career, even if it doesn't quite count unless you qualify but you know what I mean.

Oliver Giroud was short of match fitness and looked behind the pace so Yaya Sanogo was given the chance in the Community Shield but unless you've been pacing around London Colny then you are not going to know if anything has changed in that regard. A few training sessions with Giroud looking sharp and flicking passes through to Alexis might change the managers mind but at the same time Sanogo might have been going from strength to strength after having a full pre season. This game is unlikely to be the walk over that some are predicting though. When we faced Crystal Palace for the first time last season, Ian Holloway had just walked away from the job *Deja Vu* and in came Keith Millen. Holloway's team was very leaky just as his Premier League Blackpool team was but the temporary manager came in and binned the old approach, instead adopting a far more cautious approach.

Personally I would love to see Alexis start through the middle, generally you try and place your best players in the middle of the pitch where they get more of the ball but I wouldn't be at all surprised to see Arsène go for Yaya Sanogo to lead the line. He has had the entire pre season to get up to speed unlike the rest of his striking partners, not to mention his confidence building four goals in his last start for Arsenal. I think we should start as many of the full pre season players as possible, they have looked the sharpest so far which is not a surprise, this would give the world cuppers extra time to catch up.