Kai Havertz may appear off the bench for Arsenal when they take on Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium on Saturday.
Arsenal will aim to continue the recent winning run in the Premier League when they lock horns with Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium on Saturday evening. Mikel Arteta has no new issues to worry about ahead of his side’s latest fixture.
The Spanish tactician continues to sweat over Declan Rice’s fitness after he missed the game against Aston Villa earlier this week due to a swollen knee. The English international has not trained since Tuesday, and it is unclear if he will be fit enough to feature against Bournemouth this weekend.
Additionally, Cristhian Mosquera (ankle), Riccardo Calafiori (knock), and Max Dowman (ankle) remain in the treatment room. Meanwhile, during his pre-match press conference, Arteta provided fitness updates on Rice, Calafiori, and Mosquera. The Spanish tactician also discussed how he tends to respond to new injuries.
The Arsenal manager said, “We have another session today, let’s see how he comes today and how that’s feeling, but [the Villa game] was too early for him. Sometimes you get a hit and, throughout the game, you are able, with adrenaline and because you are warm, able to sustain that, and then the body reacts. It reacted probably more than we expected, unfortunately, and that’s where we are.”
“The first thing reaction is what can we do better? The second thing is the reality of the sport that we play. But looking back in the last three seasons, we have had less days of injuries than before. So, it’s how you look at it.”
During his presser, Arteta also spoke about Kai Havertz’s return and the added options to lead the line. The Arsenal boss said, “It helps the team, it helps every individual. I think that’s what we want, to have the option, with the amount of games we have on the schedule.”
“So far, we haven’t had that option, so I’m looking forward to having everybody on it, everybody performing and being able to change profiles, to change during the game as well and to pick players in the best conditions every time.”
David Raya is an automatic pick between the sticks, with Arsenal lining up in a 4-2-3-1 formation in front of him against Bournemouth on Saturday. The backline will feature Jurrien Timber, William Saliba, Gabriel Magalhaes, and Piero Hincapie.
As for the midfield unit, there is no looking past Martin Zubimendi and Mikel Merino if Rice remains unavailable. Martin Odegaard will reprise the no. 10 role, with Bukayo Saka and Leandro Trossard being the two wide attackers. Finally, Viktor Gyokeres will continue to lead the line for the away side against Bournemouth. So, Havertz and Gabriel Jesus will be backup options on the bench.
Predicted Arsenal XI: Raya; Timber; Saliba, Gabriel, Hincapie; Zubimendi, Merino; Saka, Odegaard, Trossard; Gyokeres
