Bukayo Saka and Emile Smith Rowe are back in the side but Kieran Tierney is only on the bench as Arsenal get set to take on Villarreal in the UEFA Europa League.
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has made several changes to the team that beat Newcastle United at the weekend in the Premier League for their UEFA Europa League semi-final second leg contest against Villarreal at the Emirates Stadium.
The first of the many changes comes in goal where Bernd Leno is reinstated after having had to make way for Mat Ryan last time out. The central defensive pairing of Rob Holding and Pablo Mari also return to the lineup, with David Luiz missing out with an injury while Gabriel Magalhaes drops to the bench.
? Here's our team to face Villarreal!
?? @Auba starts up front
?? @HectorBellerin gets the nod
??????? @KieranTierney1 makes the bench#️⃣ #UEL
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) May 6, 2021
Hector Bellerin is preferred over Cedric Soares and Calum Chambers at right-back. However, Arteta has pursued with Granit Xhaka as his left-back once again despite Kieran Tierney being available. The Scotsman is among the substitutes for the Gunners against Villarreal. Thomas Partey, meanwhile, slots in as the lone holding midfielder for the hosts.
In front of him, the attack-minded duo of Emile Smith Rowe and Martin Odegaard get the nod, in what could be a 4-3-3 of a 4-1-4-1 setup deployed by Arteta. Flanking the attacking midfielders are Bukayo Saka and Nicolas Pepe, who return after being benched for the Newcastle game. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang leads the line for Arsenal against Villarreal while Alexandre Lacazette is back on the bench.
Arsenal Starting Lineup: Leno, Bellerin, Holding, Mari, Xhaka, Odegaard, Partey, Smith Rowe, Saka, Aubameyang, Pepe.
