Mikel Arteta could make a raft of changes and provide rest to key first-team players, as Reuell Walters could make his senior Arsenal debut.
Arsenal travel to take on Eredivisie leaders PSV Eindhoven in a UEFA Champions League dead rubber. Both teams have qualified for the knockout stages, with the Gunners going through as group winners, while PSV Eindhoven will not feel threatened by rivals due to their superior head-to-head record.
Arteta’s pre-match press conference had a different theme after he brought academy stars Reuell Walters, Lino Sousa and Ethan Nwaneri together with the squad. The media asked questions about the trio and Bukayo Saka’s fitness after the Englishman missed the recent training session.
“Three big prospects. We want to bring a lot of players from a system and they deserve to be here. The circumstances have got them into this position. They’re still really really young but we want to get them the experience because they have the talent hopefully to be very close to us. We’ll try to give them the opportunity if we can in the right moment.”
On Saka and Gabriel Martinelli’s fitness, Arteta said, “No, he’s fine. With a few of the players we decided to give them another day’s recovery just 48 before and some of them have played a lot of minutes. We’ve already done what we had to do inside, so it wasn’t worth putting them out and exposing them outside today.”
Arteta will likely make wholesale changes in this game of little consequence. Some fringe stars who have played very little this season might get the opportunity, including Aaron Ramsdale. Walters also could make his senior debut, as the manager might use him to rest one of his key defenders.
With Ben White moving inwards, Walters could play right-back or centrally, starting in the wide role. Jakub Kiwior will surely start, but Arteta could further experiment with his backline by introducing Lino Sousa at left-back. Those changes allow the manager to rest overworked stars like Gabriel Magalhaes, William Saliba and Oleksandr Zinchenko.
The game could also see Ramsdale make his Champions League bow after Arteta preferred David Raya in the first five group games. Mohamed Elneny and Jorginho could start midfield, while Martin Odegaard could keep his place but will likely play the more advanced role.
Arteta may not risk Saka from the start and will keep Gabriel Jesus on the bench. Reiss Nelson will start on the right, with Leandro Trossard taking the left wing. Eddie Nketiah will lead the line and hope to make a mark, especially with his first Champions League goal.
Predicted Arsenal XI: Ramsdale; Walters, Ben White, Kiwior, Sousa; Jorginho, Elneny; Nelson, Odegaard, Trossard; Nketiah
