[Confirmed lineups] Arsenal v Hull – Welbeck & Elneny start in FA Cup clash

The teams have been announced for our FA Cup clash with Hull City, and Arsene Wenger has made nine changes following our 2-1 win over Leicester City.

David Ospina has found the FA Cup his only chance of first-team football this season, and Wenger has continued to show faith in the Colombian. He’s got an experienced centre-back pairing ahead of him though, with Laurent Koscielny recovering after being taken off at half time last time around and able to partner Per Mertesacker at the back.

Hector Bellerin is handed a well deserved rest with Calum Chambers coming in at right-back, with Nacho Monreal getting the same treatment with Kieran Gibbs.

Mathieu Flamini may find his first team football limited towards the tail end of the season, but for the moment Wenger is finding room for him. He starts in the deeper holding role, with new boy Mohamed Elneny alongside him.

Theo Walcott, Joel Campbell, Alex Iwobi, and Danny Welbeck – getting his first start in 308 days – all start, and it’s unclear who will start in which position. All of them are capable of playing on the wings, and we may well see them change formation fluidly throughout the game, switching from the wide positions, to up front, to a slightly more conventional No.10 position.

Here’s the @Arsenal team again: Ospina, Chambers, Koscielny, Mertesacker, Gibbs, Flamini, Elneny, Campbell, Iwobi, Welbeck, Walcott

— Arsenal FC (@Arsenal) February 20, 2016

The likes of Francis Coquelin, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Alexis Sanchez, and Olivier Giroud are on the bench if we need someone to come on and make an impact. Mesut Özil is not in the squad though, and is clearly being rested ahead of Barcelona next week.

And the @Arsenal subs: Macey, Bellerin, Monreal, Coquelin, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Alexis, Giroud #AFCvHCFC #EmiratesFACup

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— Arsenal FC (@Arsenal) February 20, 2016

The Hull City team is as follows:

Here’s how today’s visitors line up for #AFCvHCFC #EmiratesFACup https://t.co/sqr1Z4oC9n

— Arsenal FC (@Arsenal) February 20, 2016

Steve Bruce is clearly prioritising promotion to the Premier League this season, and has made ten changes from his last Championship side. He may believe drawing Arsenal in the FA Cup is tantamount to a death sentence, and has therefore resigned himself to dropping out.

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We’ve beaten Hull in both of the last two FA Cups, coming back from 2-0 down in the 2014 final to clinch our first trophy in years. We’ll need to get another win to book our place in the quarter finals, and should be more than capable of doing so with this team.