Proposed XI/Bench for Mansfield Town

Mansfield Town sit 16th in League One.

According to Transfermarkt, their entire sqaud is valued at €8.23m. Total.

At this point in the campaign, a fixture like this is a gift - it allows Arteta to heavily rotate and get some players involved who have been less involved while giving the main squad a rest.

It's also an opportunity to give guys working on fitness a run out (Ødegaard, Havertz, White, Dowman), work on positional flexibility (MLS, Dowman), and give young guys a look (Salmon, Dowman, Setford, Nichols, Ibrahim) while still having an overwhelming gap in quality and talent.

With that in mind, here's my proposed XI/Bench for the match.

XI

• GK - Kepa
• RB - White (if fit)
• CB - Mosquera, Marli Salmon
• LB - Calafiori
• MF - Nørgaard, MLS
• AMF - Ødegaard (if fit)
• W - Dowman, Madueke
• F - Havertz

(If White is not fit, I would shift Mosquera to RB, Salmon/Cala to CB, and MLS to LB while bringing in a new MF. If Ødegaard is not fit, I would shift Dowman central and bring in a new W.)

Bench

• Tommy Setford (GK)
• Gabi (CB)
• Hincapie (CB/FB)
• Josh Nichols (FB) (if fit)
• Zubimendi (DMF)
• Ife Ibrahim (MF/FB)
• Eze (AMF/W)
• Martinelli (W/F)
• Jesus (F/W)

Fully rested - Raya, Saliba, Timber, Rice, Saka, Trossard, Gyökeres

I highly doubt Arteta will go this extreme, but the 4 fixtures after Mansfield United might determine how we feel about our entire campaign:

• at Bayer Leverkusen (CL-16, Leg 1)
• vs Everton (PL)
• vs Bayer Leverkusen (CL-16, Leg 2)
• at Manchester City (EFL Cup Final)
• (followed by an international break)

We need to be fit and firing. C'mon you gunners.