Kepa Arrizabalaga will make his first-ever competitive appearance for Arsenal when they take on Port Vale in the EFL Cup third-round tie at Vale Park on Wednesday.
Arsenal will aim to reach the EFL Cup round of 16 when they lock horns with Port Vale at Vale Park in the third round on Wednesday night. Mikel Arteta has a new injury concern to worry about ahead of his side’s latest fixture.
Noni Madueke is the latest absentee after picking up a knee injury this past weekend against Manchester City. The English international has joined Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz in the treatment room, with the two attackers recovering from long-term knee issues.
Arteta has also been sweating over Piero Hincapie’s fitness after the deadline-day arrival failed to make the matchday squad against Manchester City. Meanwhile, during his pre-match press conference, the Spanish tactician provided fitness updates on Madueke and Hincapie.
The Arsenal manager said, “Yes, it looks he’s going to be out for a few weeks. We don’t know yet, we’re probably going to have to scan him next week again. He felt something at the beginning of the match, he tried to carry on, and at half-time, he was too sore, so let’s see. He was gutted, obviously. It’s very disappointing to see because he was in such a good state. He looked like a real threat; he was getting some consistency, some flow into the team and he looked like a real threat, so it’s a big miss for us.”
“He [Hincapie] picked up a little groin injury. We’ll have to assess him again in the next few days to see how he goes. There’s been a change of load, and he didn’t really have a pre-season after the surgery that he had. We’ll have to see in the next week or so how he is.”
During his presser, Arteta also confirmed that he would rotate his troops against Port Vale. The Arsenal boss said, “Yes, it’s a lot of players that are going to take part in that and they fully deserve the minutes. Kepa, for sure, is one of them. He’s been with us, his attitude, the way he supports us in every aspect of his role in the best possible manner. All this as well, they deserve more minutes than what they’re getting.”
Kepa Arrizabalaga will make his first start for his new club on Wednesday, taking his place between the sticks against Port Vale. The away side will line up in a 4-2-3-1 formation in front of the Spanish goalkeeper, with the backline featuring Ben White, Cristhian Mosquera, Gabriel Magalhaes, and Myles Lewis-Skelly.
As for the midfield unit, Christian Norgaard will line up alongside Mikel Merino in the double pivot. Ethan Nwaneri will likely reprise the no. 10 role, with Leandro Trossard and Max Dowman being the two wide attackers. Finally, Gabriel Martinelli will lead the line for the away side against Port Vale on Wednesday.
Predicted Arsenal XI: Kepa; White, Mosquera, Gabriel, Lewis-Skelly; Norgaard, Merino; Dowman, Nwaneri, Trossard; Martinelli