The Gunners take on fierce rivals Tottenham in the latest iteration of the North London derby. It’s been a bruising international break for Mikel Arteta ’s side though, giving the Spaniard plenty to think about.
Declan Rice is already suspended after his red card against Brighton, while Martin Odegaard, Mikel Merino and Riccardo Calafiori are all major injury doubts. That could see a host of changes to the starting line-up for Sunday’s game.
The battle lines have already been drawn ahead of the clash. Take a look at the latest headlines coming out of the Emirates Stadium.
Arteta considers Nwaneri
Mikel Arteta would have no qualms about handing Arsenal academy graduate Ethan Nwaneri a full debut vs Tottenham. The Gunners are currently going through somewhat of a crisis in midfield.
Nwaneri has made two substitute appearances for the club, one of which seeing him become the youngest player in Premier League history. Speaking about the 17-year-old, Arteta said: “A huge development, big credit to everybody working in the academy, starting with the coaches, Jack [Wilshere], Mehmet [Ali], the coaches around him, Per [Mertesacker], that have prepared the player to be in the right position now to shine and be prepared for the different context and demands he’s going to be facing right now.
“He’s been doing really well, physically he’s really mature, personally really mature, his game understanding has improved a lot. Now we let him do. He has enormous quality, a lot of talent and he needs space to shine.”
Tottenham have reportedly been left doubtful about the severity of Odegaard’s injury ahead of Sunday’s game. The Norwegian playmaker has been spotted on crutches during the international break.
But Spurs believe that he could make a surprise return to contention, according to The Independent. And Arteta stoked speculation after refusing to rule Odegaard out. He said: "We need some more tests. Let's see what happens in the next day or so. He is super positive about everything. Martin wants to be there every single day."
Arteta issues set piece warning
Away from team news, Arteta has also warned his side that they will have to be on their game when it comes to set pieces. The Gunners have been prolific from set pieces over recent seasons - and are aiming to do the same against Spurs.
He said: "It's a very specific phase of play but if we were only dependent on one player, then we would have a problem. We haven't built our methodology or our way of attacking or defending any phase of play in that way. So we are going to adapt to whatever players that we have and we will still be very efficient."
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