Eberechi Eze will retain his spot in the Arsenal starting lineup when they host Chelsea at the Emirates on Sunday.
Arsenal will aim to reopen the five-point buffer at the top of the Premier League table when they welcome Chelsea to the Emirates on Sunday evening. Mikel Arteta has received positive updates on the team news front ahead of his side’s latest fixture.
Mikel Merino is the only absentee for the home side, with the Spanish international recovering from a long-term foot injury, which will keep him in the treatment room for the remainder of the 2025/26 season.
However, Kai Havertz (muscular) and Max Dowman (ankle) have recovered from their injuries, with the former in contention to take on his former club, Chelsea, this weekend. Meanwhile, during his pre-match press conference, Arteta provided fitness updates on Havertz and Dowman.
The Arsenal manager said, “No so far (no fresh concerns for his squad). We’re waiting for tomorrow, the last training session, to understand if we have one or two available from last week. We are hopeful; Max (Dowman) will play some minutes tonight with the under-21s. Kai will train tomorrow and then we’ll see (if he’s fit to face Chelsea).”
Arteta also praised Viktor Gyokeres for his recent form, saying, “Well I think one thing leads to another. When you score the first one, the performance is good, you have more time with your teammates, you understand the games, the opponents, the league, everything helps.”
“We know his qualities, he’s undoubtedly an incredible striker. We need to feed his quality, we need to understand him better, he needs to understand the team, the league better and I think we are in the right trajectory.”
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 Chelsea on Sunday. 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 Declan Rice in the double pivot. Eberechi Eze will reprise the no. 10 role, with Martin Odegaard and Kai Havertz missing out. Finally, Viktor Gyokeres will lead the line for the home side against Chelsea, with Bukayo Saka and Leandro Trossard being the two wide attackers. So, Odegaard, Havertz, Noni Madueke, and Gabriel Martinelli will be among the backup options on the bench for the Gunners.
Predicted Arsenal XI: Raya; Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Hincapie; Zubimendi, Rice; Saka, Eze, Trossard; Gyokeres
