Arsenal v Southampton team news: Alexis Sanchez on the bench as Shkodran Mustafi makes his debut
Team news from the Emirates Stadium as Arsenal and Southampton go head-to-head
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Your support makes all the difference.Arsenal have made three changes to the side that beat Watford 3-1 at Vicarage Road two weekends ago.
New-signing Shkodran Mustafi makes his debut as a Gunner, stepping in for Rob Holding, and will be looking to establish a strong defensive partnership with Laurent Koscielny at the back.
Francis Coquelin comes in for Granit Xhaka in the middle while Alexis Sanchez drops to bench as Lucas Perez makes his first start for the club.
Sanchez returned late from international duty with Chile and with Arsenal set to play PSG next Tuesday, there’s a sense Arsene Wenger may be attempting to keep his star man fresh for the Champions League.
As for Southampton, Claude Puel has made four changes to the side that ran out against Sunderland.
Matt Targett makes way for a fully fit Ryan Bertrand at left-back while Jordy Clasie comes in for Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg.
Jay Rodriguez is also back in the team with Charle Austin starting on the bench instead.
Team line-up:
Arsenal: Cech; Bellerín; Mustafi; Koscielny; Monreal; Coquelin; Cazorla; Walcott; Özil; Oxlade-Chamberlain; Pérez.
Substitutes: Sánchez; Giroud; Ospina; Holding; Iwobi; Xhaka; Elneny.
Southampton: Forster; Soares; Fonte; Van Dijk; Bertrand; Romeu; Clasie; Davis; Tadic; Rodriguez; Redmond.
Substitutes: Yoshida; Long; Austin; McCarthy; Ward-Prowse; Højbjerg; Targett.
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