Arsenal take on Fulham in the Premier League on Sunday afternoon, looking for their fifth consecutive victory and a guaranteed chance to close the gap to the top with a win. Liverpool’s Merseyside derby was postponed after high winds and bad weather from Storm Darragh.
The gap could therefore close to just four points should Arsenal win yet another London derby with more to come in the coming weeks. Mikel Arteta has several fitness concerns perhaps restricting his selection for the game.
It is vital that he gets this right. Thankfully, football.london’s Arsenal writers are on hand to offer their view on just who the Gunners should be picking for the short hop to the nicest walk in football, along the Thames and into Craven Cottage.
Tom Canton
Arsenal have a great chance at turning around a net gain on last season’s points tally with a win at Fulham and the prospect remains just as tough, if not even harder. Mikel Arteta cannot take risks and I would be going as strong as is sensible here.
Gabriel and Calafiori will hopefully be back in the side following their issues. Arteta does not like to give too much away when it comes to those press conferences.
I was concerned by Thomas Partey’s performance against Manchester United and for fitness reasons too I have brought in Mikel Merino to play left eight. Declan Rice therefore moving deeper into the midfield and Martin Odegaard continuing his important role.
Up top, both Kai Havertz and Bukayo Saka are natural options to bring to the
Canton’s Arsenal XI vs Fulham: Raya; Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Calafiori; Rice, Merino, Odegaard; Saka, Havertz, Trossard.
Kaya Kaynak
If I was Mikel Arteta I'd be looking to make a couple of changes for this game with Wednesday's Champions League clash against Monaco in mind. That said Fulham are a really good side this season and are not to be taken lightly.
In the backline I'm bringing back Gabriel. His injury wasn't too severe and it seems the sensible thing to do. With Riccardo Calafiori I'm less inclined to take a risk though. The Italian has had injury issues all season so I'm not rushing him back. To replace him though I'm reward Jakub Kiwior by shifting him over to left back instead of starting Oleksandr Zinchenko.
In midfield, I'm opting for Thomas Partey as the six with Declan Rice slightly further ahead of him in the left-eight role. Martin Odegaard is an obvious pick meanwhile.
In the forward line, I think the tight pitch at Craven Cottage suits Leandro Trossard more than it does Gabriel Martinelli. I'm also giving Gabriel Jesus a start up top over Kai Havertz. The Brazilian deserves a chance.
Kaynak's Arsenal XI vs Fulham - Raya; Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Kiwior; Partey, Odegaard, Rice; Saka, Jesus, Trossard.