Arsenal will take on Everton at the Emirates today as we look to end the season with a win, but we do have some personnel issues to contend with.
The Gunners have to give their all to make sure they seal all three points today, but if their team is only as fit as they were to take on Newcastle on Monday, we could have a difficult afternoon on our hands.
While we will welcome Rob Holding back into the squad after his suspension, we still have to figure out whether one of Ben White or Gabriel Magalhaes is ready to start, as well as having to deal with the absence of Kieran Tierney and the fitness worries of Takehiro is also an issue also.
Thomas Partey returned to training this week, but I don’t think anyone is really expecting him to make the starting line-up, and we don’t believe he will make the squad either unfortunately. Emile Smith Rowe is another who didn’t make it through the Newcastle match, and is likely to be out of today’s starting line-up also.
Predicted Arsenal XI:
Ramsdale
Cedric White Holding Tavares
Elneny Xhaka
Saka Odegaard Martinelli
Nketiah
If there wasn’t so much as stake today, I would have expected Bernd Leno to come into the side for one final appearance, but I’m not expecting Arteta to make any changes to his team that he wouldn’t intend to on a normal matchday.
It could be interesting if Lacazette makes his return to the team, with Nketiah amongst those who struggled on Monday, with the Frenchman having the leadership and experience which may help get us over the line this afternoon.
That back line does leave question marks, especially after White’s struggles in his previous fixture, but we can only hope that the players’ conditions have improved since our loss at St James’s Park.
Are there any players you are expecting to feature ahead of the selection above?
Patrick