Matchday Preview: A must win match for Arsenal

A 3-0 victory at the Emirates is usually a cause for celebration, but the atmosphere was engulfed in a thunderous cloud. It was supposed to be a day of celebrating a strong collective performance from the team, and Mikel Arteta talk about bringing momentum into the next match against West Ham United, but it wasn't. Instead, everyone's attention was pointing towards the mysterious situation in Pierre-Emerick Aubameyangs absence. His "latest disciplinary breach" still lacks details on what unfolded, but not having the team captain out on the field was a concern.

The mystery plot thickened when it was announced early Tuesday afternoon (GMT) that Aubameyang would no longer be Arsenal's team captain. The Club announced, "We expect all our players, particularly our captain, to work to the rules and standards we have all set and agreed. We are fully focused on tomorrow's match." It came as a shock to not only fans but to members of the media as well. The way the captaincy was stripped away was a reminiscence of when Granit Xhaka was stripped of the captaincy band after a chaotic feud with Arsenal fans inside the Emirates after being subbed off against Crystal Palace in 2019.

While many fans are on both sides of whether or not it was a good decision from the Club to strip Aubameyang from the captaincy, the decision has been made. As a result, Aubameyang will not feature in the match against West Ham, but it's reported from The Athletic writer David Ornstein that Aubameyang is expected back into first-team training.

So as Arsenal tries to move on from the captaincy drama, what is the best squad for Arteta to go with against a well-disciplined David Moyes side?

Projected Starting Lineup:

GK- Aaron Ramsdale

RB- Takehiro Tomiyasu

CB- Ben White

CB- Gabriel

LB- Kieran Tierney

CM- Thomas Partey

CM- Granit Xhaka

CAM- Martin Ødegaard

LW-Gabriel Martinelli

ST- Alexandre Lacazette

RW- Bukayo Saka

As the saying goes, if it's not broken, don't fix it. Arteta will typically leave a lineup unchanged if the starting 11 performed admirably in the previous match. If he's healthy, the one name that could be inserted is Emile Smith Rowe. Depending on what Arteta is trying to achieve in the creativity in attack, he would either start Smith Rowe out wide or in a more central creativity role.

If the Gunners can win, this match will propel them into the fourth-place spot in the Premier League table. By having this game at the Emirates, Arsenal has an opportunity that they must take advantage of. Since the start of the season, only Manchester City is joint with Arsenal in securing the most points at home (19 points). Today is the day if the gunners want to prove many media pundits and some fans wrong about constantly stumbling in critical games. West Ham United is a powerful opponent who has grown into a threat under David Moyes, so it won't come easy.

Prediction:

1-0 Arsenal.

Being a midweek match, it's going to be a hard-fought battle. Arsenal has kept three clean sheets out of their last four home matches and won't look to slow down now. While the Gunners scored three goals in their previous game and should've scored even more, this is a defensive side that is more disciplined than Southampton. So Arsenal will have to take advantage of their chances to get the positive result their aspiring for. Kickoff is at 3 pm eastern and can be seen on NBC Sports and streamed on the Peacock app.