Arsenal could wait for a late decision on Ben White and Gabriel Magalhaes, with the regulars set to return for the visit to Newcastle United.
Arsenal are headed down to St. James’ Park for a tough away test in the Premier League in Saturday’s lunchtime kickoff. The Gunners suffered a controversial loss at this venue last season, and this time around, they are coming here with some shortcomings in their squad.
During his pre-match press conference, Mikel Arteta provided updates on the fitness of Ben White, Gabriel Magalhaes, Riccardo Calafiori, and Martin Odegaard. He has so far ruled the latter duo out of the Newcastle United game, while he waits to make a late decision on his centre-back partnership against Liverpool.
Arteta said, “Riccardo and Martin are definitely out. With Ben, we don’t know yet. He hasn’t trained yet. He could not train, he could not get involved, so let’s wait and see if he’s available.”
The Ben White issue has been a bit baffling, considering reports stated his midweek exclusion from the cup game was due to load management. Arteta insisted it was an issue with his joint, which might be a bit concerning, although the manager is still hoping to have him in the squad for Saturday.
Meanwhile, after Gabriel suffered a knee injury, Arteta insisted his problem was not serious at all. The Gunners boss insisted he will decide on the Brazilian after the final training session before the game. He said, “We have a training session today. If he can complete that, he’ll be available. He hasn’t had any training sessions yet, but if he’s able to do that today, he’ll be available to be in the squad.”
There are some alternatives that Arteta could rely on again for his team selections. For now, we have to assume the fittest players take centre stage, as some of the regulars who did not start against Preston will return to the side.
With David Raya in goal, Thomas Partey will continue playing at right-back, especially after his excellent showing against Liverpool. William Saliba’s return is a massive boost for Arsenal, and he will have Jakub Kiwior on the other side of the central defensive pairing. Jurrien Timber is expected to be fit after featuring in midweek and will start at left-back.
Declan Rice and Mikel Merino are pencilled in for starts in central midfield in what could be Arteta’s variation of the 4-4-2. Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli are expected in the wide areas, while Kai Havertz and Leandro Trossard will compete in the front two.
Predicted Arsenal XI: Raya; Partey, Saliba, Kiwior, Timber; Saka, Rice, Merino, Martinelli; Havertz, Trossard
