Arsenal are preparing for a Saturday early kick-off against Aston Villa this weekend, which could take them eight points clear at the top of the Premier League table.
Mikel Arteta will be delighted with his side’s midweek win against a tough Brentford side. They won 2-0 thanks to goals from Mikel Merino and Bukayo Saka, and now go into the weekend five points clear of Man City.
The Gunners won’t have an easy task on Saturday though, as they travel to Villa Park to play against an Aston Villa side who have won their last six games under Unai Emery. They also haven’t lost at home since the 31 August when they lost 3-0 to Crystal Palace.
So how could Arteta’s side line up against Villa on Saturday, press the next page to find out…
Saliba returns to the Arsenal back four
GK – David Raya – The Spanish keeper comes off a clean sheet against his former team Brentford on Wednesday night.
LB – Riccardo Calafiori – The Italian full-back keeps his spot in the starting XI after yet another fantastic performance in midweek.
CB – William Saliba – The French centre-back has missed the last two games with a minor knock, but he’s expected to return against Villa.
CB – Piero Hincapie – Hincapie is standing in for Gabriel at the moment, and seeing as Mosquera picked up a knock against Brentford, he gets the start here.
RB – Jurrien Timber – Timber was rested in favour of Ben White, but he had to come on for the injured Mosquera after 44 minutes.
Rice starts in midfield despite Brentford injury scare
CM – Martin Zubimendi – The Spaniard keeps his place in midfield, as he has begun to really cement his place in the starting XI.
CM – Declan Rice – Rice suffered a knee injury against Brentford, but it isn’t expected to be a major issue.
CAM – Eberechi Eze – Eze will look to get back on the scoresheet this weekend against Villa.
Trossard returns to the front three
LW – Leandro Trossard – Trossard had been dealing with an minor injury, but he is expected to be available again this weekend.
RW – Bukayo Saka – Saka came off the bench and scored against Brentford during the week, he’ll hope to get another goal against Villa this weekend.
ST – Viktor Gyokeres – Gyokeres comes back into the starting XI after being benched in favour of Mikel Merino during the week.