Arsenal predicted line-up vs. Brentford: Two changes expected as Saliba & Trossard face fitness battlesplaceholder image
Arsenal predicted line-up vs. Brentford: Two changes expected as Saliba & Trossard face fitness battles | Getty Images
The latest Arsenal team news and injury updates ahead of the Premier League match against Brentford.
Arsenal’s 17-match unbeaten run will be put to the test once again on Wednesday evening when Brentford make the short trip across London – but Mikel Arteta will be sweating on the fitness of some key players ahead of their Premier League showdown at the Emirates.
William Saliba and Leandro Trossard both missed Sunday’s 1-1 draw against Chelsea through injury and they are among four players who could be out entirely – and the likes of Viktor Gyökeres, Martin Ødegaard and Gabriel Jesus are all still short of full match fitness after making it no further than the bench at Stamford Bridge.
Ahead of the game against Brentford, we’ve collected all of the latest Arsenal team news and injury updates below, along with our prediction for Arteta’s starting line-up for the match.
When will William Saliba & Leandro Trossard be back for Arsenal?
Centre-back William Saliba was an unexpected absentee on Sunday – Arteta revealed that he had picked up a knock during training the day before the match, although the Arsenal head coach did not disclose the exact nature of the problem.
The Spaniard simply told the media that Saliba had experienced a “feeling” that something was amiss and was rested as a result – the Frenchman will undergo a scan on Monday ahead of the game against Brentford to determine the extent of the damage. He remains a major doubt for now.
Winger Leandro Trossard, meanwhile, also missed out on the Chelsea fixture do an undisclosed injury, with Arteta saying before the game that it “doesn’t look much” before suggesting that he had a “chance” to make Sunday’s match – clearly, he didn’t, but he is not expected to be out for long and may well feature against Brentford in some capacity on Wednesday.
Two players who are certainly unavailable are Saliba’s usual defensive partner Gabriel Magalhães (groin) and forward Kai Havertz (knee) – Gabriel is still expected to miss another three weeks or so of football, while Havertz inching towards a comeback which is pencilled in for mid-December.
Will Viktor Gyökeres & Martin Ødegaard be able to start against Brentford?
While there may be continued worries over the health of Saliba and Trossard, there was better news on three fronts, with summer signing Viktor Gyökeres, club captain Martin Ødegaard both getting minutes from the bench against Chelsea.
Neither player has started a match since recent injuries sidelined them but Ødegaard has now come on as a substitute in two consecutive matches and could be in line to start against Brentford after seemingly coming through unscathed. Gyökeres will be given time to get back up to full speed and may be on the bench again, but the Swede is expected to play at least some part.
Even better news was the unexpectedly early return of Gabriel Jesus, who made the matchday squad for the first time since reputing his ACL in January. Jesus didn’t come off the bench on Sunday but could be given a chance to get some minutes under his belt against Keith Andrews’ side after playing in a behind-closed-doors friendly last week.
There have been no reports of any further injury issues following the Chelsea match, but left-back Riccardo Calafiori is now one yellow card away from suspension after collecting his fourth booking of the season during that game. It’s possible that Myles Lewis-Skelly is handed a start to ensure that the Italian is available for the trip to Aston Villa this coming weekend.
Arsenal predicted line-up vs. Brentford: Raya; Lewis-Skelly, Hincapié, Mosquera, Timber; Rice, Zubimendi; Eze, Ødegaard, Saka; Merino.
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