William Saliba will return to the Arsenal starting lineup, while Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard will miss out against Manchester City at the Emirates on Sunday.
Arsenal will aim to continue a solid start to the 2025/26 season when they welcome Manchester City to the Etihad on Sunday evening. Mikel Arteta has no new injury concerns to worry about ahead of his side’s latest fixture.
Bukayo Saka, Kai Havertz, and Gabriel Jesus remain unavailable due to their injuries, although Saka should be fit to return in the foreseeable future. Meanwhile, Arteta continues to sweat over Martin Odegaard’s fitness after the club captain picked up another shoulder injury last weekend.
It is unclear if the Norwegian international will be fit enough to return, as Arteta has, as usual, been secretive about providing any clear-cut fitness updates on injured players this week. However, during his pre-match press conference, he spoke at length about the possibility of Saliba being back in the starting lineup.
The Arsenal manager said, “If there is a chance, it will be after tomorrow’s session because they haven’t done anything yet, so we’ll have more information tomorrow. Everything has been modified so far for them [Ben White and Martin Odegaard]. There are still a few things to clear and tomorrow we’ll have more information on whether they are part of the squad or if they have a chance to be part of the squad.”
“Let’s see, obviously he’s [Saliba] been carrying an injury, he’s done really well to be available for the last match and he’s really pushing it, so we will decide tomorrow who is the best to start. [Mosquera] is very good. I think credit to the scouting department and Andrea [Berta] that they presented the opportunity to have him.”
The Arsenal manager continued, “Again, as a boy, he’s extremely focused, very determined, very clear that he wanted to come here and he wanted to come here to play and earn his place. I think what he’s doing in that position, so early, is very impressive.”
Despite Cristhian Mosquera’s impressive performances while deputising for William Saliba, the summer arrival should make way for the Frenchman, who will reunite with Gabriel Magalhaes in the central defensive partnership. Jurrien Timber and Riccardo Calafiori will continue as the two full-backs, with David Raya taking his spot between the sticks.
As for the midfield unit, there is no looking past Martin Zubimendi and Declan Rice in the double pivot, and Mikel Merino will deputise for Martin Odegaard in the advanced role. Finally, Viktor Gyokeres will lead the line for the home side against Manchester City, with Eberechi Eze and Noni Madueke being the two wide attackers.
Predicted Arsenal XI: Raya; Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Calafiori; Zubimendi, Rice; Madueke, Merino, Eze; Gyokeres