Between the sticks, David Raya is bound to start along with centre-back duo Gabriel and William Saliba, who now boast the best defensive record in the Premier League so far this season.
Jurien Timber and Myles Lewis-Skelly will be expected to retain their places in the team as full-backs. The decent amount of rest that Arsenal have been handed between the festive fixtures – compared to other clubs – will be well-received by Timber in particular, after his fitness woes coming into this campaign.
Regardless of how below-par Friday night’s show was, there is not enough reason to change the midfield trio of Rice, Havertz and Odegaard.
However, it would be interesting to see some change made to the front three. Martinelli was by no means awful in Saka’s position on Friday, but he did not produce enough notable moments in the game.
Thus, to avoid another flat attacking display on Wednesday, introducing a new face on the right wing would not be a bad idea.
In terms of style of play, Ethan Nwaneri is probably the most similar there is to Saka and for the glimpses of quality he has shown so far, this could be a great chance to deploy the youngster in an attack that is currently short of a spark.
Ever since his rerurn to the starting eleven, Gabriel Jesus has given Arsenal more of a penetrative threat upfront with his pace and movement while Trossard deserves another start for his brilliant assist and improved performance against Ipswich Town.
PREDICTED TEAM
Raya
Timber – Saliba – Gabriel – Lewis-Skelly
Rice
Odegaard – Havertz
Nwaneri – Jesus – Trossard
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