Oleksandr Zinchenko and Gabriel Jesus will feature in the starting lineup when Arsenal and Liverpool face off at the Emirates on Sunday.
Arsenal are second in the table, just two points adrift of leaders Manchester City, who picked up a comfortable win against Southampton last night. The Gunners have been in excellent form so far this season, and they will be the favourites heading into the contest against Liverpool.
The home side will be without the services of Mohamed Elneny and Emile Smith Rowe because of injuries. Other than that, Arteta has a fully-fit squad to choose from and he is expected to name his strongest eleven.
While Arteta did not provide team news updates during his pre-match press conference, he spoke on the subject of rotation. The Arsenal boss said, “Well, we know that the fixtures that we’ve been given have no precedence in this league because of the World Cup and with everything that we have to play in between.”
“And then every team is different, every squad is different. And if you start to risk, you make the situation much worse. If everybody’s available and you have robot players that can play every three days, life is much easier! So it’s something that we have to experience, and test because at the moment, we don’t really know how it’s going to play out.”
Arsenal vs Liverpool Preview: Probable Lineups, Prediction, Tactics, Team News & Key Stats
Aaron Ramsdale is the first-choice goalkeeper for Arsenal, and he is set to start between the sticks against Liverpool. Meanwhile, Ben White is likely to be deployed as a right-back. The former Brighton & Hove Albion defender is reliable at the back, and Arsenal will need his defensive qualities against someone like Luis Diaz.
William Saliba has been impressive this season, and he is set to partner Gabriel Magalhaes at the heart of Arsenal’s defence. Summer signing Oleksandr Zinchenko is likely to feature as the left-back. The Ukrainian international should get plenty of opportunities to overlap especially because of the defensive frailties of Mohamed Salah and Trent Alexander-Arnold.
Kieran Tierney was handed a start during the midweek UEFA Europa League game against Bodo/Glimt. But Zinchenko has been better this season and is likely to start against Liverpool.
Arteta is likely to continue with a 4-2-3-1 set up, and the midfield pretty much picks itself. Granit Xhaka and Thomas Partey were excellent in the North London Derby against Tottenham, and the duo is set to start here as well.
Martin Odegaard will continue as the attacking midfielder, with Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli featuring in the wide areas. Both wingers have done well in their recent outings, and Martinelli, in particular, could have a field day against a struggling Alexander-Arnold. Summer signing Gabriel Jesus has hit the ground running and is set to lead the line for Arsenal on Sunday.
Predicted Arsenal XI: Ramsdale; White, Saliba, Gabriel Magalhaes, Zinchenko; Xhaka, Partey; Saka, Odegaard, Martinelli; Jesus
