Arsenal will make considerable changes to their lineup to face Newcastle United, with Jorginho and Takehiro Tomiyasu set for starts.
Mikel Arteta has a massive squad to call upon against Newcastle United on Saturday but does have some key players missing at the wrong time. The Arsenal boss will want to find solutions to balance their act on the pitch and bring the best out of his available players.
During his pre-match press conference, Arteta answered various questions from reporters. But one key focus was the mixed fitness news on two of his players. Emile Smith Rowe suffered a fresh injury and will not miss several weeks of action with a knee injury. On the other side, he updated on Martin Odegaard, with the captain set to start.
On Smith Rowe, Arteta said, “Nothing has changed, as I said I think he will be out for weeks. How many will determine in relation to how he progresses in the first few weeks especially. It’s a big blow because he was getting some momentum and some minutes and we’d started to get the Emile that we needed, but unfortunately he’s going to be out again.”
Arteta was asked whether the rest has benefitted Odegaard after his recent struggles. The Gunners boss said, “We have tried to offload him a little bit because he had a little issue that he was grumbling with.”
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“He felt much better in the last few days, and we gave a few minutes against West Ham, which was good to see, and his contribution was really good. He will train today, and if he’s fine, he will be ready.”
Beyond Smith Rowe, Arsenal are also missing key starters Thomas Partey and Gabriel Jesus, with the duo set to miss a few weeks of action with muscular problems. Those three and Jurrien Timber remain their only absentees for this clash.
Arteta will change the lineup from the midweek cup clash, with David Raya coming in to replace Aaron Ramsdale in goal. William Saliba will return to the backline, while Takehiro Tomiyasu could replace Oleksandr Zinchenko at left-back.
To maintain balance in his midfield, Arteta will keep Jorginho at the base, with Declan Rice operating in that left-eight slot. Odegaard will assume his starting position on the right side and will play the most advanced role of the three.
Arteta might make a late call on his starting striker, with Kai Havertz indeed part of his thinking for that role. Given Eddie Nketiah’s hat-trick last week, the manager might keep the recently called-up England international in the leading role. Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli will complete the attacking setup from either wing.
Predicted Arsenal XI: Raya; Ben White, Saliba, Gabriel, Tomiyasu; Odegaard, Jorginho, Rice; Saka, Nketiah, Martinelli
