It’s been an interesting period in Arsenal’s season, and many are already worried about their prospects over the next three games. Arsenal face Tottenham away in the North London derby, and while Mikel Arteta will have trips to Atalanta and Manchester City on his mind, the sole focus, for now, will be on the short trip within North London.
Questions about Arteta’s new contract dominated the pre-match press conference, as he signed a new three-year deal. That said, the other extensive enquiries were about injury updates on Martin Odegaard and other critical stars like Gabriel Jesus and Riccardo Calafiori.
Odegaard suffered a nasty ankle injury while playing for Norway against Austria. The diagnosis has not been clear about Odegaard, and there are fears that he could miss at least 3-4 weeks. In that scenario, he will be out of the trips to Spurs and Manchester City.
On the skipper, Arteta said, “We need some more tests so let’s see what happens in the next day or so, this afternoon probably, and see what happens, what the extent of the injury is and how quickly we can get him back. He’s super positive about everything. We know Martin – he wants to be there every single day but we have to wait and see.”
Meanwhile, there have been reports that Gabriel Jesus has recovered from the problem that has seen him miss the early parts of the season. He will be assessed before the game, and in all probabilities, he will be a touch-and-go, although Arteta did indicate that the Brazilian has been training.
On Jesus, Arteta said, “Gabby was out there. He’s got another session tomorrow, and if everything goes well, he will be ready to be selected for this squad, which is great news for us.”
Calafiori also suffered what looked like a calf injury after a freak incident against France. Arteta urged waiting to get the proper diagnosis and determine whether the Italian could feature in the Spurs clash. Meanwhile, Declan Rice is suspended following his sending-off against Brighton.
Arteta has a massive selection headache ahead of this crunch NLD. Not only will he have to replace the influential duo of Rice and Odegaard, but he may have to tweak the system significantly. The week saw plenty of suggestions about playing Jurrien Timber in midfield or even about Ethan Nwaneri starting; Arteta is unlikely to adopt any of those ideas, as he will make balanced tweaks.
The back four is expected to stay the same, with Timber starting at left-back rather than in midfield. However, Arteta will change the system, meaning a midfield double-pivot of Thomas Partey and Jorginho seems like the likely outcome.
Kai Havertz could take up the No.10 role, which is different from what Odegaard does on the team. Raheem Sterling could start on the left, which could keep Gabriel Martinelli on the bench. Bukayo Saka will be on the right, and Leandro Trossard will reprise a false-nine role.
Predicted Arsenal XI: Raya; Ben White, Saliba, Gabriel, Timber; Partey, Jorginho; Saka, Havertz, Sterling; Trossard
