[Confirmed lineup] Aston Villa v Arsenal – Campbell keeps his spot & youngster makes the bench

The teams for Arsenal’s clash with Aston Villa have been announced, and it’s as you were following our win over Olympiacos in midweek. Arsene Wenger is following the ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ ideology, and is keeping faith with the players who will have played three games in a week by the end of today.

Our rock at the back Petr Cech keeps his place, with David Ospina still confined to the bench. Hector Bellerin and Nacho Monreal continue in the wide areas, while Per Mertesacker and Laurent Koscielny keep their partnership going. Gabriel Paulista is still struggling for game time, despite the Brazilian proving himself on numerous occasions this season.

Mathieu Flamini worrying continues in midfield, although what other options do we really have other than Calum Chambers? Aaron Ramsey sits alongside him, although both players have been regularly marauding forward in the last few games.

Joel Campbell’s excellent performances have seen him rewarded, and he remains out wide for our trip to Villa Park. We will be looking to the Costa Rican to offer some balance with Theo Walcott on the opposite flank, with Wenger opting for an extremely attacking lineup.

Olivier Giroud predictably takes centre stage yet again, with his hat-trick heroics stealing the show in Greece. He’s been in excellent form this season, and is looking to continue in that vein.

Alex Iwobi makes the bench, and will be looking to get some time on the pitch.

Here is the @Arsenal team for #AVFCvAFC pic.twitter.com/yRjlUhwwYf

Don't Miss:

• [Team news] Arsenal line up vs Sheff Utd – Injury woes increase
• Predicted Arsenal line up vs Slavia Prague – It’s “all or nothing”
• Arsenal icon Martin Keown says squad will be ‘baffled’ by star’s omission

— Arsenal FC (@Arsenal) December 13, 2015

The Aston Villa team is as follows:

Confirmed line-up: Villa team to face @Arsenal this afternoon, kick-off 1.30pm. #AVFC #AVLARS pic.twitter.com/02yGhhFUYC

— Aston Villa FC (@AVFCOfficial) December 13, 2015

This is our chance to move top of the table and capitalise on mistakes from others, but we need to hold our nerve and make sure we aren’t exhausted following our midweek adventures.