Arsenal are expected to have the entire squad available, with Mikel Arteta set to name a solid lineup to face Aston Villa.
Arsenal will be looking to return to the top of the Premier League when they face Aston Villa at the Emirates after Manchester City went ahead with a victory on Saturday. The Gunners have a full squad available again, and no fresh injuries have been reported since their midweek game against Bayern Munich.
Mikel Arteta was optimistic during his pre-match press conference, during which he was asked a variety of questions. He did provide a small update on Gabriel Magalhaes, who was not seen in training pictures, while also touching upon Jurrien Timber’s status.
Gabriel was the only Arsenal player missing from training pictures, and there have been some reports of a knock or a minor injury for some time now. Arteta, however, was not too concerned when he spoke about him, as it seemed like load management with the defender, who might be available for selection ahead of today.
On Gabriel, Arteta said, “We’ve got one more day to prepare for the match and we’ll see tomorrow if everybody is available.”
Meanwhile, Timber has been taking part in full training for a few weeks now, and there is some curiosity about whether he will play a game soon. Arteta remained cautious over his approach for the Dutchman and insisted he still has a few more steps to take before coming into the selection group.
On Timber, Arteta said, “He’s still got a few steps to make. He needs to play a game, at least with the under-21s and he’s going to have an in-house game soon as well. He’s done everything in training, now it’s getting that match fitness and having people around him to start competing in a full match which is different to training.”
Regarding team selection, Arteta will again name his most robust possible lineup with some tweaks from the midweek game against Bayern Munich. Jakub Kiwior might drop to the bench in favour of Oleksandr Zinchenko, while the rest of the back four remains the same.
Thomas Partey is an option to start in central midfield. But with crucial Aston Villa midfielders missing, Arteta might opt for Jorginho to begin the game alongside Declan Rice. Martin Odegaard might keep playing that advanced role in midfield three.
Gabriel Jesus and Leandro Trossard impressed off the bench against Bayern Munich and have come into contention to start. However, Arteta might keep them on the bench, with the manager keen on protecting the Brazilian’s fitness in the run-in. Hence, Gabriel Martinelli will start on the left, while Bukayo Saka and Kai Havertz will complete the front three for Arsenal.
Predicted Arsenal XI: Raya; Ben White, Saliba, Gabriel, Zinchenko; Odegaard, Jorginho, Rice; Saka, Havertz, Martinelli
