Arsenal are looking to put one foot in the quarter-finals when they travel to Bayer Leverkusen for the Champions League Round of 16 on Wednesday evening.

Mikel Arteta certainly has plenty to ponder where his starting XI is concerned because the big games keep on coming for the Gunners.

They can move 10 points clear of Manchester City in the Premier League on Saturday against Everton and they also host Leverkusen in the second leg next week before facing City in the Carabao Cup final.

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But Arteta surely has to go strong in Germany and football.london reporters Tom Canton and Ryan Taylor have had their stab at selecting the Arsenal XI they believe should take to the field at the BayArena.

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Despite the concerning signs of both Riccardo Calafiori and Leandro Trossard coming off injured against Mansfield Town on the weekend, the pair both trained ahead of the trip to Germany.

Only one of them makes it into my team, that being the Belgian, mainly because the form of Gabriel Martinelli has been more concerning.

Plenty of the players that were rested or recovering from issues return for me in what is, of the available side, Arsenal’s current best team.

That is with the exception of Kai Havertz, who could start either at ten or at centre forward but having been in the first XI against The Stags, I feel him starting here is probably not the smartest thing to do.

With every second leg being played at home, the Gunners know that a strong result in the first leg can give themselves some real breathing room when they return to the Emirates Stadium next week.

Go strong, get the job done and then prepare for another massive league game this weekend.

Canton’s Arsenal XI vs Bayer Leverkusen: Raya; Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Hincapie; Zubimendi, Rice, Eze; Saka, Gyokeres, Trossard

Arsenal should be relatively fresh following the FA Cup win at Mansfield.

A number of key players were rested at Field Mill and now Mikel Arteta has also had his ranks bolstered by the returns of William Saliba, Riccardo Calafiori and Leandro Trossard (the latter two were forced off at the weekend).

I think the XI virtually picks itself in Germany with Jurrien Timber, Saliba, Gabriel Magalhaes and Piero Hincapie making up the back-four.

Martin Zubimendi, Declan Rice and Ebere Eze return in midfield while Bukayo Saka and Viktor Gyokeres start in attack.

In my opinion, I'd go for Gabriel Martinelli in this game as he's now had a run of games in the side and he impressed in last season's Champions League knockout stages.

He has also scored six goals in seven European appearances this season and can be a major threat on the counter.

Taylor's Arsenal XI vs Bayer Leverkusen: Raya; Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Hincapie; Zubimendi, Rice, Eze; Saka, Gyokeres, Martinelli