Eberechi Eze and Gabriel Jesus will return to the Arsenal starting lineup when they host Crystal Palace at the Emirates for the EFL Cup quarter-final on Tuesday.
Arsenal will aim to book a spot in the EFL Cup semi-finals when they welcome Crystal Palace to the Emirates for the quarter-final clash on Tuesday night. Mikel Arteta has no new issues to worry about ahead of his side’s latest fixture.
Ben White (hamstring), Gabriel Magalhaes (groin), Cristhian Mosquera (ankle), Kai Havertz (knee), and Max Dowman (ankle) remain in the treatment room. Meanwhile, in a conversation ahead of the game, Arteta discussed Gabriel Jesus’s progress after returning from a long layoff.
The Arsenal manager said, “Yes, he is [ready to start]. You can see now, not only in games but every day in training, how much he wants it. He’s going to deserve a chance soon. I watched him when he was seven months [off] the pitch, and the way he was moving and how much he wanted it.”
“I think he wrote a beautiful letter [on The Players’ Tribune] explaining what football means to him and how it affects his life. It was something beautiful. I think that’s probably the biggest quality of Gabi: bringing people together, connecting with people and generating a lot of uncertainty in the opponent.”
“When you’ve seen [against Everton] the amount of spaces that he was involved in, that’s his biggest quality – so we need to exploit that. been a really intense journey, I would say. I think when he joined us, he lifted the belief, the spirit and the energy of the club and the team.”
The Arsenal manager continued, “I think he gave something very different to what we already had and it was really impressive. And then he had some very bad injuries that haven’t allowed him to have the consistency that we need from a very important player. But he’s back. I think his fighting spirit, his desire to always prepare the best way…it’s unbelievable. The team has got it now and we need to use it.”
Kepa Arrizabalaga will replace David Raya between the sticks, with Arsenal lining up in a 4-2-3-1 formation in front of him against Crystal Palace on Tuesday. The backline will feature Jurrien Timber, William Saliba, Riccardo Calafiori, and Myles Lewis-Skelly, with Arteta having little room for rotations.
As for the midfield unit, Christian Norgaard and Mikel Merino will pair up in the double pivot. Eberechi Eze will reprise the no. 10 role, with Noni Madueke and Gabriel Martinelli being the two wide attackers. Finally, Gabriel Jesus will lead the line for the home side against Crystal Palace.
Predicted Arsenal XI: Kepa; Timber, Saliba, Calafiori, Lewis-Skelly; Norgaard, Merino; Madueke, Eze, Martinelli; Jesus
