Arsenal host Leicester in EPL season opener – See likely players

-For the first time in its 129-year history, the EPL season will kick off on a Friday for the 2017/2018 season.

For the first time its history, the English premier league will kick off on a Friday with the gunners playing host to former champions Leicester City at the Emirates stadium.

Arsenal will be hoping their fine form in pres-season which saw them win the Emirates cup as well as the community shield against Chelsea will be carried over into the new season while Leicester City will hope their summer arrivals which include Nigeria’s Kelechi Iheanacho will be enough to cause an upset at the Emirates stadium iin the first game of the season.

Alexandre Lacazette and Sead Kolasinac are expected to make their league debuts for Arsenal, but Alexis Sanchez is ruled out with an abdominal strain. Laurent Koscielny is banned, while Per Mertesacker, Mesut Ozil and Aaron Ramsey are fitness doubts.

New boy, Kelechi Iheanacho is expected to make the squad for the foxes after impressing in pre-season but midfielders Danny Drinkwater and Vicente Iborra are unavailable because of muscle problems while defender Robert Huth is recovering from ankle surgery and is set to be replaced by summer signing Harry Maguire. Riyad Mahrez should be involved despite being a transfer target for Roma.

It is still expected to be seen if Gunners boss, Arsene Wenger will stick with the 3-4-3 formation which served him so well in the closing stages of the 2016/2017 season.