Arsenal are without both Thomas Partey and Mikel Merino for their trip to West Ham United in the Premier League. The line-up was released with the pair missing while Myles Lewis-Skelly was also absent from the team.
Mikel Arteta has opted instead for Jorginho to start with Declan Rice. The Italian started against Nottingham Forest last week and was very impressive which will be a boost to the side.
Arsenal have confirmed that the Spanish international is missing due to a knee problem. Merino did come off the bench for the clash with Sporting CP, his shot leading to Leandro Trossard's goal and the Gunners' fifth of the evening.
Partey meanwhile is a muscle problem. Arteta did suggest some could miss the game as some unnamed players could not take part in Thursday's training session.
"Not a lot because we have another training session, we have to see how the boys are today," he said. "A few weren’t able to train yesterday but hopefully today so we have to wait and see."
In a statement on Saturday, Arsenal said: "Mikel Merino (knee issue) and Thomas Partey (muscle issue) both miss out on tonight’s fixture."
Arsenal will hope to deal with their absences in the afternoon clash with West Ham United this Saturday evening but there are more pressing concerns on the near-horizon. Manchester United visit the Emirates Stadium on Thursday as Arteta and Ruben Amorim restart their rivalry from European battles of the recent past.
Arsenal will hope the pair can shake off whatever ailments they have to play. If not, suddenly the Arsenal midfield is looking incredibly thin and Jorginho will have plenty of minutes thrust upon him.
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Arsenal Manager Mikel Arteta, Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard and Gabriel Jesus with the Arsenal Therapy Dog Win during the Arsenal Men's team group shoot at London Colney on September 18, 2023
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