The AmEx will play host to Brighton and Arsenal this evening as the teams look to close out the calendar year with a win.
The Gunners will need to secure the three points without their player of the season so far in Gabriel Magalhaes, who has won each of our monthly Player of the Month awards so far this term. The Brazilian followed protocols to miss the clash with Chelsea after coming into close contact with a positive Coronavirus case, but is now ruled out after testing positive himself.
David Luiz and Willian also had to miss the previous tie after showing symptoms which could have been linked with Covid, but are now expected to return to full training on December 31 ahead of our next match.
Thomas Partey is the last named that is currently unavailable for today’s match, having limped out of the tie with Tottenham at the start of the month.
The latter trio are all reported by Arsenal.com to have returned to outside training as they are monitored ahead of their returns.
Predicted XI:
Leno
Bellerin Luiz Mari Tierney
Ceballos Xhaka
Pepe Willock Martinelli
Aubameyang
It is tough knowing how well certain players have recovered from the clash with Chelsea, and as much as I would love to see Emile Smith Rowe carry on from his performance, I feel he might drop down to the bench this evening.
With a quick turnaround in matches, it makes sense for many players to be rotated, but your guess is as good as mine as to which players have shown they are most ready.
Who would you like to see keep their place after the win over Chelsea?
Patrick