Arsenal make the short trip south to take on Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park this evening, with concerns over three players.
While Arteta claimed on Friday that he couldn’t guarantee that any of Takehiro Tomiyasu, Bukayo Saka or Aaron Ramsdale would be available, the latter pair have both been spotted in training, and both look set to make the playing squad at least.
Whether they are back to 100% is another story, but we may be able to thank not having to play until Monday to allow our South American duo Gabriel Magalhaes and Gabi Martinelli extra time to recover from their travels.
Predicted Arsenal XI:
Leno
Cedric White Gabriel Tierney
Partey Xhaka
Martinelli Odegaard Smith Rowe
Lacazette
While it wouldn’t be a shock if Ramsdale was to make the line-up, it seems as though he wouldn’t be risked unless he could prove that he was back to 100%. The same can be said for Tomiyasu, with Cedric and Leno having shown strong form of late.
With Crystal Palace only being denied by a late Alexandre Lacazette in the reverse fixture, you could understand if Arteta was keen to name his strongest XI, which would mean that ESR would miss out once again, but we will have to await his decision later on this evening.
Patrick