Arsenal retained their five-point lead over Manchester City at the top of the Premier League by beating Brentford on Wednesday but there will not be much time to rest on that result as they visit Aston Villa only three days later.
Heading into the trip to Villa Park, it remains unclear whether Saliba and Rice – who hobbled off against Brentford – will be fit to play as Gabriel continues his spell on the sidelines.
Should Saliba fail to make the squad for the third game in a row, while Mosquera is also out, the best available partnership at centre-back would be between Timber and Hincapie.
Despite the shortage of height from this centre-back pairing – which may leave Arsenal vulnerable on opposing set pieces – the duo do provide a good mixture of tenacity. Also, Timber’s worth of Premier League experience might make him an even better partner for Hincapie than the injured Mosquera in the makeshift back four.
It is imperative that Rice manages to feature at Villa Park but if he is somehow absent, then the best replacement would be Norgaad.
Odegaard’s ability to press and his ferocious hardwork will be much-needed for this away fixture, making him the preferred option over Eze in the attacking midfield role.
Despite Merino’s prolific form, Gyokeres needs to start against Villa for a few reasons. Rotation from Arteta is necessary here as Merino has racked up a lot of games over the past month while the natural centre-forward presence of Gyokeres will be an important factor against what is normally a stubborn Unai Emery backline.
Martinelli has done little to impress in his last two starts, and therefore Madueke (or someone else) deserves the nod.
**PREDICTED TEAM**
Raya
White – Timber – Hincapie – Calafiori
Zubimendi – Rice (or Norgaad)
Odegaard
Saka – Gyokeres – Madueke