Ahead of our league cup tie with Brighton, I thought we might try something new, something daring, something dangerous. Okay, well, two out of three ain’t bad. Today, intrepid reader, you will get a chance at voting for our starting lineup, and I swear that I’ll do my level best to pass it along to Mikel or at least to one of his underlings who will give him the general gist of it. Arteta has talked about naming a strong side, saying, “You know there are no second chances and we’ll take it very seriously…We’re going to pick a very competitive team. I think everyone deserves chances, and we’ll make some changes with judgement in relation to the load of the players, but we’ll play to win.” Could be gamesmanship, could be serious; who knows? 

On one hand, it’s “only” the League Cup. It’s a trophy, and it’s worth winning. That said, if we can progress while also resting key players, so much the better—not that I’d ever try to skew the results of this entirely legitimate, not-at-all-unscientific poll. All that’s left for you to do is to get into the poll below. I’ll post the results a few hours before the match, plenty of time for Arteta to consider our wizened suggetions. Weigh your decisions carefully, then. Our ability to progress may very well depend on your decisions. After you cast your votes, weigh in in the comments-section below; share deeper thoughts about this particular fixture and your desire vis-a-vis this specific competition.

Once you complete the poll, you may have to scroll back up to see a summary of the results.