An injury hit Arsenal resume Premier League action with a trip to Leicester City, as Leandro Trossard could lead the line at the King Power Stadium.
Arsenal ended their Dubai trip on a sour note as Kai Havertz suffered a serious hamstring injury that will see the German international miss the remainder of the season. It is a big blow for the Gunners, who already have a host of their attackers missing with different problems, with Mikel Arteta’s troubles compounding ahead of the trip to the King Power Stadium to take on Leicester City.
During his pre-match press conference, Arteta was asked about the news surrounding Havertz, while the Spaniard also confirmed Ben White would be back in the squad. Ahead of Saturday’s lunch-time knockoff, all eyes will be on Arsenal and their starting front three.
On Havertz and their overall luck with fitness issues this season, Arteta said, “We were having a great camp in Dubai recharging, training, having some time off and connecting again with nature in a different environment, and then the injury happened in a very unexpected way. Certainly it is a big blow because of the injuries that we have but fortunately, we’ve been through a lot this season.”
“We have played without Gabriel, without Saliba, Ben White all season, Tomiyasu all season, Calafiori for two months, Merino for two months, Martin Odegaard for two months, Bukayo Saka for three months, Gabriel Jesus, all of them.”
“So that’s it, that’s the challenge ahead. I love it and look forward because we are still where we are with all the things I mentioned on top of playing four times with 10 men, blah blah blah. Let’s see what the team is made of.”
On the positive side, Ben White was pictured in full training during the Dubai trip, and Arteta confirmed his availability for the trip to Leicester City, saying, “Yes, Ben has been training more regularly now so we still have to manage his load a lot but he’s going to be available yes.”
In terms of the team selection, the only headache for Arteta is choosing the correct attacking setup, although the decision might be pretty straightforward, given the shortage of attackers. Other than that, the midfield and the backline will look exactly the way they did in their last two games against Manchester City and Newcastle United.
With David Raya as the firm first choice between the sticks, Arsenal have had the benefit of keeping a consistent backline for more than one game in a while. Jurrien Timber will continue at right-back, and for a change, he will have a reliever in Ben White on the bench. Myles Lewis-Skelly could once again start ahead of Riccardo Calafiori, while William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes keep their central spots.
Thomas Partey, Martin Odegaard and Declan Rice are the starting midfielders for Arteta. Despite some loose talks about potentially playing Mikel Merino up front, the Spaniard will have to take a place on the bench. Leandro Trossard will lead the line in a false-nine role, while Ethan Nwaneri and Raheem Sterling will support from the wide areas in a much changed front three.
Predicted Arsenal XI: Raya; Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Lewis-Skelly; Odegaard, Partey, Rice; Nwaneri, Trossard, Sterling
