Arsenal vs. QPR: Predicting the Gunners' Starting XI

After a disappointing draw against Wolves earlier in the week, Arsenal will look to get back to winning ways against struggling QPR at the Emirates on Saturday.

In a crucial period of the season, it is crucial that Arsenal get results, especially against teams that are so much lower than the Gunners in the table.

This will be the last match for a couple of months where Arsene Wenger will not have Thierry Henry at his disposal, but the manager will nevertheless look to rotate his squad. Some of those who did not play against Wolves will return, and many of those who did will be given the day off during a busy period.

With that in mind, let us attempt to read Wenger's incomparable mind and project an Arsenal starting XI for their clash with their London neighbors.

Hopefully, we can enjoy a good match while we're all still sober.

Goalkeeper: Wojciech Szczesny

There can be no dispute at this point that young Wojciech is Arsenal's first choice goalkeeper, and if he continues his sterling form, he should remain as such for years to come.

But even if the Pole was enduring a rough patch, Arsenal would not have anyone to replace him. Both Vito Mannone and Lukasz Fabianski are injured, and Arsene Wenger would sooner put a plate of Jell-O in goal than endure another Manuel Almunia horror show.

So Szczesny will certainly maintain his place between the sticks, and his was the easiest selection to make. Here's hoping he stays healthy long enough that other keepers return to the side and Almunia isn't within a muscle tweak of the first team.

Right Back: Johan Djourou

Djourou was another easy selection to make, simply because Arsenal are pretty much out of options in defence until Bacary Sagna's return.

Though it is obvious that Djourou is playing well out of position on the right, he has done admirably in his awkward new role, defending as best he can and even occasionally getting forward.

With Sagna out for another month, Arsenal will just have to grin and bear through their unfortunate defensive situation, with little flexibility over who plays and where they play.

This won't be such a difficult game for the Swiss, however, as he will mostly have to deal with the incisive, dangerous runs of Armand Traore down his flank. I couldn't prevent myself from chuckling when I typed that.

Center Back: Per Mertesacker

Again, there are not many other options here, but Mertesacker has nevertheless been quite solid in the center of defence for an Arsenal side that has sometimes lacked solidity.

The big German makes up for his lack of speed with intelligent play and positioning, and his recent performances have been nothing but quality.

His physicality against Wolves was needed and helped stave off some of the attacks from Mick McCarthy's side, which relied on basic tactics to try and break down the Gunners' defence.

Speaking of a physical presence, this will be the German's first matchup against Joey Barton, and I truly hope that Barton is on the end of some heavy challenges from an unusually aggressive Mertesacker.

Center Back: Laurent Koscielny

Koscielny has been one of the most improved and most valuable players on this Arsenal team during the course of his campaign, and he will most likely take up the left center back slot on Saturday.

The Frenchman has done well at right back, but it is when he operates in the center of defence that he has been most effective.

A technically able, quick, and increasingly hard-nosed presence, Koscielny excels at reading the game and will sacrifice his well-being for the cause, if necessary.

He, too, has shown great class and ability in his recent performances, and while it would be nice to give him a bit of a rest, he can certainly perform at a top level when called upon for two consecutive games.

Left Back: Thomas Vermaelen

Vermaelen is another who has been forced to play a bit out position on the left flank, and while he has more experience than Djourou as a fullback, Vermaelen has had his rough patches, as well.

But the Belgian international has not lost any of his competitive spirit, as he frequently charges forward with all his might to lead an attack. In doing so, he has come excruciatingly close to finding the back of the net on several occasions.

While I would much prefer Vermaelen to ply his trade in the center of Arsenal's defence, he will have to just do his best on the left until Kieran Gibbs returns in a month or so.

Even in this awkward role, though, Vermaelen is a much better option on the left side of defence than many other Premier League teams have, and his selection is another relatively easy one.

Defensive Midfielder: Alex Song

After returning from a one-game suspension against Wolves, Song once again showed that he is the best defensive midfielder in the Premier League and arguably the most complete midfielder that Arsenal have.

His strength and power belies his surprisingly good technical skill, and he has recently been just as able to push forward and unleash a devastating assist or snuff out an attack with a crunching tackle.

While Mikel Arteta is the fulcrum between defence and attack, Alex Song makes the midfield tick perhaps more than any other player. His versatility means he can do any job that might be required of him on short notice, whether that be sitting in defence or trying to score himself.

Even with eager competition emerging in the persons of Emmanuel Frimpong and Francis Coquelin, Song is becoming almost undroppable when he is available for selection.

Central Midfielder: Aaron Ramsey

Partially rested against Wolves, look for Aaron Ramsey to make his return to the starting XI against QPR.

Though Ramsey struggled earlier in the season, the Welsh wizard has rapidly improved lately, with a string of impressive displays as the attacking arm of midfield.

He covers just as much of the field as any other player, and much of the incisive edge that Arsenal seemed to lack in attack during the second half of the Wolves game was largely due to Ramsey's absence.

However, he did need to be rested, as he has played a very high number of minutes for someone his age due to the dearth of options Arsenal have in midfield, with both Jack Wilshere and Abou Diaby missing.

Wenger cannot afford to conserve his resources for too long, though, so Ramsey should be back this weekend.

Central Midfielder: Tomas Rosicky

Now here's where the real speculation begins. I think Wenger will opt to give Mikel Arteta a much-needed rest and replace the Spaniard with another experienced head in Tomas Rosicky.

Arteta has shouldered a heavy workload recently, starting and finishing every game the Gunners have played and playing a pivotal role in each of his appearances.

Losing our midfield fulcrum and metronome will be a considerable loss, but Rosicky has turned in some admirable performances this season, and even if he is not his old 90-minute self, he can at least take on Arteta's workload for the majority of the match.

And resting our midfield maestro in this fixture is much wiser than doing so in our next match against Fulham on January 2. After that match, everyone gets a week's rest, as Arsenal next play Leeds on January 9. So if Wenger wants to give Arteta a break, now is the time to do it.

Right Winger: Theo Walcott

After being forced out of the side against Wolves with an illness, Walcott is a lock to return to his slot on the right side of Arsenal's attack.

Arsenal missed that threat of pure pace that they have when the Englishman plays, and it will be quite amusing to see him shred Armand Traore to pieces when the two are matched up against each other.

Not much can be said about young Theo that has not already been stated. He is devastating on his day but is frustratingly inconsistent.

If he has one of his better games against QPR and links up well with Robin van Persie, Arsenal have a good chance to score multiple goals.

Left Winger: Yossi Benayoun

While many might expect Gervinho to be given another start, the manager is conscious of the fact that the Ivorian winger has played a significant amount of games on little rest recently.

Due to Gervinho's heavy use, I expect Yossi Beanayoun to be given another start on the wing, where he excelled for much of the Wolves match.

In the first half especially, Benayoun was Arsenal's most dangerous player, slicing open our opponents' defense with searching through balls and making incisive, threatening runs without the ball.

Despite operating on a short week, Benayoun has not played much during the course of the season, and thus has plenty of stamina to burn. Plus, with his dramatic late goal against Villa, the Israeli has shown that he is in a pretty good run of form.

And what's more, the only other option besides the young Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain on the left is Andrei Arshavin, who provides no defensive cover to Thomas Vermaelen and has not outperformed my grandmother on a football pitch recently.

Striker: Robin van Persie

Of all the choices I had to make in constructing this list, that of the captain was certainly the easiest.

In the form of his life, Arsene Wenger has found it impossible to drop his Dutch leader, partly because doing so would mean handing a start to Marouane Chamakh.

Unfortunately, Thierry Henry will not be able to help out his former side just yet, and that means that van Persie will have another opportunity to break Alan Shearer's record for league goals in a season, which the Dutchman can do with a hat-trick.

Even if Henry was available, though, Arsene Wenger will really want to make up for some of the ground on Arsenal's rivals he lost after the disappointing draw against Wolverhampton.

Putting van Persie in the starting lineup simply gives Arsenal the best chance to win and regain some of that lost momentum. And they simply must do so at home against lower opposition like QPR.