Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli are fit to start, while Takehiro Tomiyasu will feature at left-back when Arsenal take on Southampton.
Arsenal will aim to continue their winning run in the Premier League as a tough trip to Southampton awaits. Mikel Arteta will recall many of his first-team regulars. Much of the team picks on its own, and Arteta should name an unchanged lineup from the Leeds United game.
Arteta got asked several questions during his pre-match press conference, ranging from team selections to injury news. Starting with the update on Bukayo Saka, Arteta said, “I think he’s fine. I think he was struggling a bit at the end [against PSV], but hopefully, he will be fine for Sunday.”
The Arsenal manager said this about Gabriel Martinelli: “Yeah, he came on yesterday. He had a tough week. He wasn’t feeling great during the week, but towards the day before the game, he was already feeling better, and that’s why we decided to play him a little bit.”
Regarding team selection, Arteta’s biggest conundrum has been over choosing the preferred left-back. Oleksandr Zinchenko will remain out of the trip, and the Arsenal manager spoke briefly about Takehiro Tomiyasu and Kieran Tierney.
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He said, “What we want is to keep them all competitive. To keep them all happy, I think, is impossible because when one plays, the other one is not as happy as the one that is playing.”
“I think the three of them [Zinchenko, Tierney and Tomiyasu] when they’ve been playing have been really good, and this is what we need. In different games, we need different things from that position, and we adapt each game.”
Arteta took Tomiyasu off and allowed Tierney to play 90 minutes against PSV. The Japanese international should thus start at left-back against Southampton. With Ben White, William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes, the back four seems complete. And Aaron Ramsdale picks himself between the sticks.
Thomas Partey and Granit Xhaka will play in a midfield double-pivot, with Martin Odegaard playing an advanced role. Saka will start on the right side of the Arsenal attack, with Martinelli featuring on the left flank. Finally, Gabriel Jesus will lead the line for Arsenal against Southampton on Sunday.
Arsenal Predicted XI: Ramsdale; Ben White, Saliba, Gabriel, Tomiyasu; Partey, Xhaka; Saka, Odegaard, Martinelli; Jesus