Arsenal travel to Bramall Lane on Monday night for a Premier League encounter with relegation-threatened Sheffield United.
The Gunners could become the first club in English league history to win three consecutive away matches by at least five goals after crushing victories over West Ham United (6-0) and Burnley (5-0).
Another drubbing would also consign Sheffield United to the history books. The Blades have lost their previous two matches at Bramall Lane to Aston Villa and Brighton by the same 0-5 scoreline – no English team has ever suffered a five-goal losing margin at home three times on the spin.
Here’s the Arsenal lineup Mikel Arteta may deploy on what could be a historic evening.
GK: David Raya – According to the Arsenal goalkeeper: “My story isn’t the typical footballer’s story.”
RB: Ben White – A fan of the card game Uno (more so than football), White is fiercely competitive off the pitch as well. “I want to win everything that I do,” he told The Guardian. “My missus and I play a lot of games at home and I won’t be letting her win.”
CB: William Saliba – “We don’t play just to be there to make up the numbers,” Saliba said of Arsenal‘s title aspirations. “We want to make it.”
CB: Gabriel – The last time Gabriel made what Opta classify as an error directly leading to a shot was all the way back in October 2022.
LB: Jakub Kiwior – Michal Hanek, Podbrezova’s assistant coach while Kiwior was at the club, told the BBC: “I asked him what he ate for lunch. He answered: ‘Doughnuts with jam.’ That was funny and I laughed a bit, but then I explained to him as a pro you cannot eat doughnuts for lunch.” Glad that was cleared up.
CM: Martin Odegaard – During dinner with Arsene Wenger as a teenager before he joined Real Madrid, Odegaard overthought everything. “Is he analysing me right now?” the midfielder remembered thinking. “Is he going to judge me if I eat the fries?”
CM: Declan Rice – Arsenal’s new set-piece specialist has racked up four assists in six league games this calendar year – more than he managed across his previous 83 appearances in the competition.
CM: Kai Havertz – When Havertz was 17 and breaking into Bayer Leverkusen’s first team, he bought a “fancy rucksack”. Havertz realised that the flashy white and gold number was “a bit too cool” and “not me”. It gave him a reality check – and his sister Lea a new bag.
RW: Bukayo Saka – On his own, Saka has scored as many league goals as Sheffield United‘s entire squad this calendar year (seven).
ST: Leandro Trossard – The Lego enthusiast built a replica of the Taj Mahal during lockdown.
LW: Gabriel Martinelli – “He had this desire,” Martinelli’s father says. “There was no such thing as a lost cause. He went for every ball like it was his last meal.” The same can still be said today.
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