Team News: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang leads line as Arsenal make seven changes

Arsene Wenger has made seven changes to Arsenal's starting lineup for Sunday afternoon's Premier League meeting with strugglers Southampton.

The Frenchman suggested ahead of the match that he would rotate his squad in between games against CSKA Moscow in the Europa League quarter-finals.

That has proved to be the case, as more than half of the outfield starters from the 4-1 first-leg win on Thursday have either dropped down to the bench or been left out entirely.

Armenian playmaker Henrikh Mkhitaryan is out with a knee injury, while Aaron Ramsey and Laurent Koscielny are given a day off.

Jack Wilshere, Nacho Monreal, Mesut Ozil and Alexandre Lacazette are all included among the subs, meanwhile, with Reiss Nelson among those to come in for his first top-flight start.

Calum Chambers, Sead Kolasinac, Mohamed Elneny, Danny Welbeck, Alex Iwobi and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang are also included from the off.

In terms of the visitors, Mark Hughes has dropped Charlie Austin - who has netted in all three previous league meetings for Arsenal - and gone with five at the back.

Manolo Gabbiadini, Nathan Redmond, Charlie Austin and the ill Mario Lemina also come out from the 3-0 loss to West Ham United, replaced by Maya Yoshida, Oriol Romeu, Shane Long and James Ward-Prowse.

Arsenal: Cech; Bellerin, Chambers, Mustafi, Kolasinac; Elneny, Xhaka; Iwobi, Nelson, Welbeck; Aubameyang Subs: Macey, Holding, Monreal, Wilshere, Ozil, Lacazette, Nketiah

Southampton: McCarthy; Cedric, Stephens, Hoedt, Yoshida, Bertrand; Ward-Prowse, Romeu, Hojbjerg, Tadic; Long Subs: Forster, Pied, Redmond, Sims, Boufal, Austin, Gabbiadini