Arsenal are aiming to close the gap on Premier League leaders Liverpool this Saturday when they take on Aston Villa at the Emirates Stadium.
The Gunners will need a favor from Brentford earlier in the day if they are to get close to Liverpool in the table, provided they can avoid going down against the Villans, of course. Arsenal have haunting memories of this exact game last season as Unai Emery’s Villa dealt them a fatal blow in the title race.
Arsenal can rely on the confidence of Wednesday’s win in the North London derby against Tottenham Hotspur, even if it wasn’t the best, as he secured bragging rights. Injuries continue to make Mikel Arteta’s life more difficult and he will need to get his squad selected for the arrival of seventh-placed Villa.
Here’s how arsenal they could line up this weekend.
GK: David Raya – The Spaniard wasn’t too busy in the north London derby but produced an impressive reflex save to deny Dejan Kulusevski. He could be called upon more often on Saturday.
RB: Jurrien Timber – Timber is Arsenal’s only senior right-back option and has been forced to play a huge amount of football over the past month. However, he has performed admirably despite a heavy workload.
CB: William Saliba – The Real Madrid goal will be tasked with containing Ollie Watkins on Saturday, who now has two goals and two assists in his last four outings. Jhon Duran will try a similar handful off the bench.
CB: Gabriel – Gabriel put in a monumental performance against Tottenham and Arsenal need their Brazilian superstar more than ever given their attacking struggles in recent weeks.
LB: Myles Lewis-Skelly – Lewis-Skelly has gained invaluable experience this term and produced a stellar performance against Tottenham. Having performed expertly against Spurs’ tricky front line, he will be tested by the likes of Morgan Rogers and Leon Bailey this weekend.
CM: Martin Odegaard – Odegaard was much improved on Wednesday and helped Arsenal to victory, with the classy Norwegian producing one characteristically inventive and measured display in the middle of the field.
CM: Thomas Partey – He will need to provide significant support to Arsenal’s defensive line against Villa, who are often lethal on the counter-attack. Mikel Merino is sniffing his starting place.
CM: Declan Rice – Rice has not been able to replicate his exquisite performances from his debut season for much of the campaign, but he made an assured switch against Spurs. Villa’s engine room is full of impressive options, including Arsenal’s sole target Amadou Onana, and Rice will need to dominate the midfield battle.
RW: Leandro Trossard – He scored the winner against Spurs on Wednesday with a ferocious strike, although it should have been denied by Antonin Kinsky. A performance that increases the confidence of the Belgian, who must take a step in the middle of the attack injuries.
ST: Kai Havertz – Havertz has come under fire in recent weeks for his swagger and can have few complaints after some unfortunate misses. However, he is assured of a starting place with Gabriel Jesús down and always working tirelessly with the ball.
LW: Gabriel Martinelli – He was surprisingly omitted from the line-up on Wednesday, but Raheem Sterling’s disappointing performance in the derby will only ensure Martinelli’s return. Should give Matty Cash a rough afternoon.
