Mikel Arteta could tweak his system and bring Leandro Torssard back into the Arsenal lineup, while William Saliba sits out again.
Arsenal will gear up for a crucial clash against Chelsea with the chance to return on top. That position may only become a temporary prize, for Manchester City will face West Ham United on Wednesday, when they can reclaim the top spot. For now, the Gunners will focus on the game on Tuesday and maybe look at the other results after that
Mikel Arteta’s pre-match press conference had multiple discussion points. But like in recent weeks, William Saliba dominated the questions. The Arsenal boss once again confirmed the Frenchman remains out of contention while offering his take on his absence’s impact.
Arteta said, “It’s pretty similar, he’s not going to be involved tomorrow and we will have to wait until the next game to see where we are. He hasn’t improved this week at all.”
“I don’t know, he is a very important player but I don’t know how to quantify it. I don’t know how to quantify Gabriel Jesus being out for four months, Eddie Nketiah for three months, Emile Smith Rowe for four and a half months, Kieran Tierney for a few weeks, Tomiyasu for three and a half months, maybe now six months. This is football.”
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Beyond Saliba, Arteta has all his players fit and ready to go. Mohamed Elneny and Takehiro Tomiyasu remain sidelined for the long term and will play no part for the remainder of the season. If Saliba’s situation continues like this, he may join the duo.
Arteta may not make many changes to his starting lineup, with only minor tweaks likely. That said, only Leandro Trossard seems like a player who could improve their fortunes and come in place for the misfiring Gabriel Jesus at the tip of the attack.
Aaron Ramsdale will continue in goal and hope to keep a clean sheet against Chelsea. A familiar back four of Ben White, Rob Holding, Gabriel Magalhaes and Oleksandr Zinchenko will retain their berths.
Thomas Partey has come in for criticism lately. But Arteta will continue trusting the Ghanaian midfielder to hold the midfield together. Granit Xhaka will have recovered from his illness completely and is likely to show more sharpness than against Manchester City.
Martin Odegaard will play the slightly advanced role ahead of the duo. Bukayo Saka will continue in his role from the right side of the front three, with Trossard centrally and Gabriel Martinelli from the left completing Arsenal’s attacking setup.
Predicted Arsenal XI: Ramsdale; Ben White, Holding, Gabriel, Zinchenko; Odegaard, Partey, Xhaka; Saka, Trossard, Martinelli
