Aaron Ramsdale is set to return to the Arsenal lineup, but Mikel Arteta may not change the other personnel for the Brentford trip.
Arsenal have multiple players potentially returning to action after a period out with a different problem. The Gunners make the short trip to face Brentford at the Gtech Community Stadium. Mikel Arteta will target a win to stay close to the top two or even break into those spots.
Arteta answered many questions during his pre-match press conference. He gave plenty of updates on players who have recently missed games. Martin Odegaard, Gabriel Jesus, and Ben White are among those, but the manager is still cautious about choosing them against Brentford.
Odegaard has not featured in Arsenal’s last three Premier League games. He had a combination of a hip problem and a reported concussion issue. The Norwegian also sat out the latest round of international fixtures, thus giving himself ample time to recover. Arteta suggested he could play against Brentford. But with a crunch period ahead, the manager might lean towards caution.
Arteta said, “Hopefully he is available. We have another training session today but he has been progressing well. We didn’t know how many days he’d need to be out and in the end it got more delayed than we wanted but we had to protect the player.”
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Jesus missed three Premier League games but quickly returned to play for Brazil against Argentina. The question is whether Arteta is ready to put him back in right away. The manager said he is available.
“He’s available. He played 96, 97 minutes in a very competitive match, so we have another session, and they had a long flight so I have to see the condition of every single player to make the call on the lineup.”
Lastly, Ben White, who missed the Burnley clash before the international break, could return to the matchday squad. Arteta’s comments suggested the defender has not been training, and considering his problem was a mere knock, taking around two weeks to recover seems a bit worrying.
Arteta continued, “Again, hopefully if he is able to train today he will be eligible to play, but it’s a question mark to resolve in the next few hours.”
Aaron Ramsdale will return to the starting lineup as David Raya is ineligible to face his parent club, Brentford. It gives a small window of opportunity for the Englishman, which he must take to convince the manager about his qualities.
Other than the keeper, Arteta may keep the same lineup that started against Burnley. With Ben White probably not completely ready, Takehiro Tomiyasu is available and will start at right-back. William Saliba, Gabriel Magalhaes and Oleksandr Zinchenko will complete the back three.
Similarly, Jorginho will sit at the base in midfield, with Declan Rice and Kai Havertz on either side. Bukayo Saka, Leandro Trossard, and Gabriel Martinelli will play in the front three for the Gunners. They have many options, like Odegaard, Eddie Nketiah, and Jesus, who will likely come off the bench.
Predicted Arsenal XI: Ramsdale; Ben White, Saliba, Gabriel, Zinchenko; Havertz, Jorginho, Rice; Saka, Trossard, Martinelli