Nicolas Pepe and Eddie Nketiah should return to the starting lineup when Arsenal face off against Wolves at the Molineux on Saturday.
Arsenal will be aiming to make it four wins in a row across all competitions, when they lock horns with an in-form Wolves side at the Molineux this weekend.
Ahead of the game, manager Mikel Arteta has no fresh injury concerns, with Bernd Leno, Calum Chambers, Pablo Mari and Gabriel Martinelli the only ones ruled out definitively. However, the Spaniard did claim in his pre-match presser that a few players had minor issues because of the fixture pile-up.
“We had a few issues from last night, I won’t mention the names but obviously we have been playing a lot of games in the last few days and some players are recovering. We will assess them tomorrow and see who is in the best condition to start and be involved in the game,” Arteta said.
Guess who's back… ???
? The latest on @LTorreira34 and more from our medical team ahead of #WOLARS
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) July 2, 2020
Having seen success with the three-man backline, the Gunners’ manager is expected to continue with the same setup on Saturday. Emiliano Martinez has been doing a fine job filling in for the injured Leno and is a certain starter in goal.
Shkodran Mustafi and David Luiz should feature once again in the three-man backline, while the lack of a left-footed centre-back could mean Arteta continues with Sead Kolasinac in the defensive trident. Cedric Soares had a debut to remember against Norwich City last time out, but Hector Bellerin should continue as the right wing-back, while Kieran Tierney is a certain starter on the left.
The midfield partnership of Dani Ceballos and Granit Xhaka has shown signs of flourishing recently and Arteta would be better off not tinkering with it, even though Lucas Torreira’s return to fitness offers him more options in the centre of the park.
Arsenal captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang ended his poor run of form against Norwich by scoring a double. While his place in the starting XI is undoubted, his future at the club continues to be uncertain.
Addressing the topic, manager Arteta said, “It is just my opinion, things change in football very quickly but when you ask me in that moment how I feel about Auba’s future, in this moment I feel that he wants to continue with us and keep developing and help us to become a better team.”
There ought to be two changes in attack, though, with Eddie Nketiah likely to replace the misfiring Alexandre Lacazette as the lone centre-forward, while Nicolas Pepe should also come into the team, in place of Reiss Nelson who started the previous game.
Arsenal Predicted XI: Martinez; Mustafi, Luiz, Kolasinac; Bellerin, Ceballos, Xhaka, Tierney; Pepe, Nketiah, Aubameyang
