Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice is on track to be available for Saturday’s Premier League showdown with Aston Villa at Villa Park.
The £105m man appeared to suffer a calf injury during Wednesday’s 2-0 victory over Brentford, although he told a reporter in the mixed zone that he was “fine” after the game.
Mikel Arteta will give a definitive update on Friday, but Rice should travel with the squad to the West Midlands, although he may not make the starting lineup either way.
Mikel Merino excelled as both a centre-forward and number eight in midweek – opening the scoring as a striker and setting up Bukayo Saka as a midfielder – so the Spaniard could drop into the Rice role, allowing Viktor Gyokeres to return up top.
The latter may be part of a rejigged front three for the away side, as Saka should be restored over Noni Madueke, while Eberechi Eze will have his eyes on Gabriel Martinelli’s spot on the left.
Eze could be shifted out wide to accommodate captain Martin Odegaard in midfield, but Arteta’s biggest dilemmas undoubtedly come in defence, where William Saliba, Cristhian Mosquera and Gabriel Magalhaes could all be missing.
Thankfully for the Gunners boss, overlapping aficionado Ben White put in a determined display in Wednesday’s rare start and should hold the fort at right-back again, allowing Jurrien Timber to fill in centrally alongside Piero Hincapie.
Arsenal possible starting lineup:
Raya; White, Timber, Hincapie, Calafiori; Odegaard, Zubimendi, Merino; Saka, Gyokeres, Eze