Arsenal will have a strong travelling squad for Fulham, as Gabriel Magalhaes could return, while Riccardo Calafiori is still a doubt.
Arsenal will be aiming to stretch their winning run to five games across all competitions when they face Fulham at Craven Cottage on Sunday. The Gunners are coming into this fixture on the back of a midweek win over bitter rivals Manchester United. Mikel Arteta will target another three points and keep the pressure on Liverpool at the top of the standings.
There were many questions thrown at Arteta during his pre-match press conference, and chief among those were related to set pieces. He also touched upon some injury related updates while also recognising the ex-Arsenal contingent over at Fulham.
On the injury front, Arteta had insisted that Gabriel Magalhaes’s problem he suffered during the West Ham game was a minor issue. The Spanish manager did miss the midweek encounter with Manchester United, as the Brazilian could return to action on Sunday against Fulham.
Arteta did not confirm it in any way, considering there were still two days between the press conference and the game. The Gunners boss said, “We have a few, obviously it’s matchday-2 so we have to monitor a few players. We have a training session tomorrow so we will see how everybody is for Sunday.”
He was specifically asked whether Gabriel and Riccardo Calafiori are in line for starts, and he said, “Until we see tomorrow’s training session it’s very difficult to say something. Calafiori is the same.”
Meanwhile, Arteta also spoke about Timber and how he has performed since returning from a long injury. He said, “I’m really impressed. He’s coming from a long-term injury after his ACL. We knew the talent, the leadership, the skill he has, it’s been in great form, he gives us something very different to any other full-back we have in the team and his impact has been tremendous, I think.”
As for the team selections, there might be a few changes from the midweek encounter. Gabriel could potentially return to the starting lineup and play alongside William Saliba. Jakub Kiwior could drop to the bench, although should Arteta not risk the Brazilian, then the Pole will continue at the heart of the defence.
With Calafiori likely to miss out again, Oleksandr Zinchenko will continue in the left-back role. Jurrien Timber is best placed for the right-back slot, as Arsenal do have defensive depth problems in that position at the moment.
Arteta could retain the same midfield as the last game with Thomas Partey at the base, with Martin Odegaard and Declan Rice on either side. Bukayo Saka will continue on the right side of the attack, with Kai Havertz leading the line. Leandro Trossard could return to the lineup as the Arsenal boss has rotated that left-sided position in recent weeks, meaning Gabriel Martinelli will drop to the bench.
Predicted Lineup (4-3-3): Raya; Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Zinchenko; Odegaard, Partey, Rice; Saka, Havertz, Trossard