Dream Arsenal XI vs Newcastle - Gyokeres debut question, Mosquera chance and Dowman start

Arsenal prepare to face Newcastle in the second match of their pre-season tour of Asia. The match follows the 1-0 victory over AC Milan, in which Bukayo Saka scored, but some of the younger contingent in the group also gave standout performances.

Ethan Nwaneri and Max Dowman showed exactly why there is such hype around the pair, while the new summer signings all did themselves plenty of favours too. With that in mind, there remain two more games that Mikel Arteta needs to navigate.

Up next is a clash with Eddie Howe’s Newcastle United; however, the Magpies will be without their talismanic striker Alexander Isak. The Swede has not joined up with the group due to a reported thigh injury, which is the line from the Newcastle side, but there are credible suggestions that the player has now asked for a transfer away from the club.

The Arsenal back line, therefore, will not be dealing with a player who has caused them serious problems over the last couple of seasons. Kepa Arrizabalaga saved three penalties and a strike from Rafael in the last game, and here he gets the nod from the start, with David Raya coming to potentially practise in a shootout of his own.

Cristhian Mosquera has now been confirmed as a summer signing for the club. He has trained and has the chance to be involved too so fans can get a look at their new Arsenal signing.

Ben White, with Jurrien Timber still not quite fit, comes in at right-back. But there were positive signs that Gabriel Magalhaes might be ready to make his entrance after a small niggle felt ahead of the Milan game; Myles Lewis-Skelly then completes the back four.

Martin Zubimendi was excellent in his first appearance as an Arsenal player. He, Declan Rice, and Martin Odegaard will be the expected starting trio for the season, so getting as much experience playing together as possible will be important.

Up top, the chance of Viktor Gyokeres making it to the team after a medical is completed on Saturday is incredibly slim and almost impossible. He is far more likely to feature against Tottenham instead.

Therefore, it is Kai Havertz who again gets the nod through the middle, with Bukayo Saka and young star Max Dowman in from the off. This setup sees Saka play on the left with the 15-year-old talent on the right, an attempt to try Saka in a different role to add more unpredictability to the team.

Dream XI: Kepa; White, Mosquera, Gabriel, Lewis-Skelly; Zubimendi, Rice, Odegaard; Dowman, Havertz, Saka.

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