Martinelli and Lacazette start, Predicted Arsenal lineup (4-2-3-1) to face Vitoria

Arsenal will be aiming to return to winning ways when they entertain Portuguese outfit Vitoria in a Europa League group stage game on Thursday night.

The Gunners recently witnessed an eight-match unbeaten run come to an end as they suffered a disappointing 1-0 defeat to Sheffield United away from home.

For the Vitoria clash, manager Unai Emery is certain to make wholesale changes to the starting XI that faced the Blades, and that could begin with a complete overhaul of the defence.

Formation: 4-2-3-1

Predicted Lineup:

Emiliano Martinez has been the preferred choice for the Cup competitions this term and the Argentine is expected to start ahead of Bernd Leno in goal on Thursday.

In the defence, a complete overhaul is expected with Hector Bellerin and Kieran Tierney in the full-back positions while Rob Holding should partner Shkodran Mustafi at the heart of the backline.

Likewise the midfield should witness changes. Granit Xhaka and Matteo Guendouzi are the undisputed starters when it comes to the Premier League and they could be rested for this game.

In their places, Lucas Torreira and Ainsley Maitland-Niles are likely to feature and the former will be hoping to make a point after struggling for regular starts in the Premier League this season.

In the attack, Dani Ceballos will most probably get the nod over Mesut Ozil and Joe Willock for the number 10 role. Ozil has been training regularly with the first-team but Emery has not given any indication that the German may return to the mix on Thursday.

Elsewhere, Gabriel Martinelli should be expected to start on the back of scoring braces in his two starts for the north London side across all competitions.

The Brazilian may have to shift to his natural left-wing role with Lacazette likely to get the chance to lead the line after his injury comeback. On the opposite flank, Emile Smith Rowe may get the nod with Reiss Nelson out injured while Nicolas Pepe could be rested.