Arsenal will play host to Aston Villa at the Emirates this evening, but we have some question marks over the fitness of some of our players.
Gunners boss Mikel Arteta admitted on Thursday morning that wonderkid Bukayo Saka hadn’t trained with the squad following his malicious foul by James Macarthur on Monday evening, but he has since been spotted in training.
The manager did state that one or two others were also struggling following that physical battle with Crystal Palace, but didn’t name them by name, leaving us out of the loop on those, while we are already aware that Granit Xhaka remains out for the long-term, and is still well over a month away from a return.
Predicted Arsenal XI to take on Villa:
Ramsdale
Tomiyasu White Gabriel Tierney
Smith Rowe Partey Odegaard
Pepe Lacazette Aubameyang
I feel like the Frenchman has done enough to convince Arteta that he is worthy of a start this evening, and Saka’s issues could well allow him to return without changing too much within dynamics of the team, although I would much prefer to see Bukayo on the right ahead of Pepe personally.
Auba should have no issue with giving up the central role to return to the wing where he has scored the majority of his Arsenal goals, and judging by Laca’s showing on Monday, he will be working hard as he looks to cement his place in Arteta’s first-team plans.
Do you think the manager could name an unchanged XI tonight if Saka does prove ready to start?
Patrick