William Saliba and Oleksandr Zinchenko are out of the game against Southampton, with Arsenal likely to name an unchanged lineup.
Arsenal will return to home comforts when they host Southampton at the Emirates. Mikel Arteta will aim to end the two-game winless run to secure a much-needed victory to keep the Gunners relevant in the title chase. Three points are a must, but they will have to make do without key stars again.
Arteta got quizzed about the fitness of William Saliba during his pre-match press conference. He had been out right before the international break. The Gunners have missed the French centre-back’s presence, and last week they also lost Oleksandr Zinchenko for the time being.
On Saliba, Arteta said, “There’s no big news, the picture hasn’t changed from last week. Regarding William, we still have to wait a little bit more. He’s not progressing as quickly as we hoped and it is a bit delicate so we want to be certain that when we push him, he’s ready to absorb the load and the risk that we’ll take, and that’s not possible at the moment.”
“I don’t know, it’s a bit early to know. Probably next week we’ll have more certainty. There is some evolution, he’s doing more activity but is not there yet to start to throw him into the pitch at the level the sessions demand to compete in this league.”
Arsenal vs Southampton Preview: Probable Lineups, Prediction, Tactics, Team News & Key Stats
On Zinchenko, Arteta confirmed it was a muscular injury that kept him out of the West Ham game. Without confirming anything, the manager hinted at the Unrainan sitting out the Southampton clash. He continued, “We’ll see about that one as well, it’s not certain. It’s a muscular injury and it needs some time to heal and we’re not there yet.”
Due to those injuries and despite failing to win their last two games, Arsenal could name an unchanged side to face Southampton. With Aaron Ramsdale firmly settled between the sticks, the same back four will lineup ahead of the England stopper.
Ben White will continue in his right-back role, with Rob Holding and Gabriel Magalhaes in central defence. Kieran Tierney came in for criticism against the Hammers but will deputise for Zinchenko at left-back.
Like Tierney, Thomas Partey was under scrutiny for his role in the build-up to the West Ham penalty. However, Arteta is unlikely to change his guard right now and continue to deploy the Ghanaian at the base of his midfield. Granit Xhaka and Martin Odegaard will complete the three in the middle.
Bukayo Saka will have the spotlight on his head as he gears up a response to that costly penalty miss last Sunday. Gabriel Martinelli will hold fort on the left side of the attack, with Gabriel Jesus leading the line for Arsenal. Leandro Trossard and Eddie Nketiah are options for the Gunners off the bench.
Predicted Arsenal XI: Ramsdale; Ben White, Holding, Gabriel, Tierney; Odegaard, Partey, Xhaka; Saka, Jesus, Martinelli
