Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has dropped a big selection hint ahead of the FA Cup quarter-final against Southampton at St Mary’s today.
The Gunners suffered a disappointing 2-0 loss to Manchester City in the Carabao Cup final before the international break.
Kepa Arrizabalaga was at fault for the opening goal. His poor handling contributed to the Cityzens taking the lead shortly after the hour mark.
Arteta said that it would have been unfair to drop the Spaniard, who had played every minute in the competition thus far.
Arrizabalaga has done the same in the FA Cup, but the manager has hinted that there could be a change between the sticks.
In his pre-match press conference, Arteta was asked whether he would rest players ahead of a big Champions League night at Sporting CP on Tuesday.
n response, the Spanish tactician said that the Gunners are in a position to field the strongest line-ups and make the best decisions in every competition.
He said: “We are in a position now that we are going to make the strongest line-ups and decisions that we possibly can to win every competition. We are two or three games away in the FA Cup and we know how important that competition is for us.”
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Raya poised to start against the Saints
Arsenal had a good opening half in the League Cup final, but the momentum shifted after the interval. Arrizabalaga’s slow decision-making with his distribution added to the pressure.
The former Chelsea man eventually made a high-profile mistake that contributed to Nico O’Reilly opening the scoring. O’Reilly scored his second soon after to put the result beyond doubt.
Arrizabalaga’s error would not have occurred with Raya between the sticks. Raya, described as ‘world-class‘ by The Athletic, should be reinstated in goal for the FA Cup quarter-final tonight.
St Mary’s side has been a bogey ground for the Gunners over the years, and they face a tricky challenge with Southampton in superb Championship form with 13 points from five matches.
The South Coast outfit have not suffered a defeat since January in the second tier. They were 15th in the standings back then, and have jumped to seventh behind Wrexham with a game in hand.
Hence, Arsenal can’t take things for granted. It should be a strong starting XI against the Saints. Raya looks poised to return based on the manager’s comments in his pre-match presser.
Martin Odegaard, Gabriel Martinelli, Jurrien Timber and Riccardo Calafiori could be reinstated into the starting XI too. We anticipate at least five changes from the Carabao Cup final loss.