Bukayo Saka decision, Ben White picked and striker call made – Arsenal line-ups vs Fulham

Arsenal take on Fulham after more than two weeks off the action as they watched four teams progress to the FA Cup semi-finals. Mikel Arteta and Josh Kroenke have spoken about the desire to win major trophies, especially in the wake of the appointment of Andrea Berta as sporting director.

The big news beyond that for some, however, is the return of Bukayo Saka and how he should be reintegrated into the side. Do you rush him back in if he is ready like Arteta seemingly claimed? Or instead gradually integrate him to give the best chance of being ready for Real Madrid?

Then we begin to ask who indeed would be making way for Saka, and which player starts on the left; does Mikel Merino continue as the club’s main striker? This and more is decided by our football.london writers who give their view on who they would play.

Tom Canton

If he’s ready, he’s ready. The way in which I sat and listened to Mikel Arteta talk about Bukayo Saka was one of the most convincing and exciting sentences he has uttered: "Bukayo is ready to go!"

A return to Gabriel Martinelli and Saka in the front three is exciting but knowing the depth of Leandro Trossard and Ethan Nwaneri is there too is also great. I would stick with Mikel Merino for now who has two goals in two games for club and country playing the position.

Jurrien Timber has shaken off illness and so comes straight back in alongside his usual centre-half partners. Then at left-back is new England senior international Myles Lewis-Skelly, who should be riding a wave of confidence going to a tough task against Fulham.

Canton’s Arsenal XI vs Fulham: Raya; Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Lewis-Skelly; Partey, Rice, Odegaard; Saka, Merino, Martinelli.

Joe Doyle

Finally, Bukayo Saka is back, and perhaps the biggest dilemma for Mikel Arteta is whether to start him or not. For me, it's better to be safe than sorry with Real Madrid up next. So, I'd start him on the bench and give him half an hour to try and shake off some ring rust.

But first things first: the backline. David Raya starts in goal, and with Jurrien Timber's illness over the break, I think it's time to hand Ben White a start at right-back. In the centre, it's Gabriel and William Saliba, with Myles Lewis-Skelly at left-back.

There are some interesting options further up the field, but I'm going route one with my decision: it's a midfield trio of Thomas Partey, Declan Rice and Martin Odegaard.

One option is to see Ethan Nwaneri in midfield, but I'm resting Saka so the youngster starts on the right side of the attack. I'm not particularly a fan of Mikel Merino up top, so Leandro Trossard is in a false nine role with Gabriel Martinelli offering the pace off the left.

Joe's Arsenal XI vs Fulham: Raya; White, Saliba, Gabriel, Lewis-Skelly; Partey, Rice, Odegaard; Nwaneri, Trossard, Martinelli.