Tomas Rosicky has been included the the Arsenal team for the opening match of the season against Aston Villa.
With Mikel Arteta ruled out, Aaron Ramsey is expected to drop deeper alongside Jack Wilshere with the Czech midfielder in a more advanced role.
Elsewhere, Bacary Sagna is included at right back while Wojciech Szczesny has been selected in goal.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is expected to line up on the left flank after pipping Lukas Podolski to a starting role.
Team in full: Szczesny, Sagna, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Gibbs, Wilshere, Ramsey, Rosicky, Walcott, Giroud, Oxlade-Chamberlain
Subs: Fabianski, Jenkinson, Frimpong, Cazorla, Gnabry, Podolski, Sanogo
Copyright 2025 The Arsenal Football Club Limited. Permission to use quotations from this article is granted subject to appropriate credit being given to www.arsenal.com as the source.
