The 2026 World Cup Draw Explained.mp4
The latest Arsenal team news and predicted starting XI for their Premier League game against Aston Villa.
Arsenal are back in Premier League action this Saturday when they travel to Aston Villa for the lunchtime kick-off – but the Gunners have several significant injury worries hanging over their heads in the build-up.
Cristhian Mosquera and Declan Rice both had to be substituted during the midweek 2-0 win over Brentford due to apparent injuries, while William Saliba and Leandro Trossard are doubts after missing recent matches due to injuries. In total, Arsenal could be forced to make do without as many as six first-team players for the trip to Birmingham.
Ahead of the showdown with Aston Villa, we’ve collected all of the latest Arsenal team news and injury updates below, along with our prediction for Mikel Arteta’s starting XI in the second city on Saturday.
Will William Saliba be fit to play Aston Villa?
Perhaps Mikel Arteta’s biggest headaches concern the missing members of the back four – with Gabriel Magalhães out for around three more weeks with a groin injury, the Arsenal manager will hope that at least one of William Saliba or Cristhian Mosquera are able to take part.
Mosquera was forced off just before half-time of the routine win over Brentford on Wednesday, with Arteta telling reporters after the match that “we have to wait and see [with the injury]. It's probably part of the knee or ankle, we don't know. He could not really tell us exactly how it was, but he wasn't able to continue.”
Mosquera will undergo assessment prior to the Aston Villa match but there is a high chance that the summer signing will miss some time. Arteta may, however, get Saliba back in time to replace him – Arteta had previously said that the Frenchman was only expected to be out for a “matter of days” with an undisclosed muscular injury, although he remains a doubt for Saturday as it stands.
If Saliba and Mosquera are both unavailable along with Gabriel, then Arteta will have to hope that he isn’t handed another selection problem by Riccardo Calafiori – the Italian defender is one booking away from a one-match suspension.
Will Declan Rice or Leandro Trossard be fit to face Aston Villa?
There’s good news for Arsenal when it comes to at least one of their fitness issues – after leaving the field late on against Brentford with a leg injury, Declan Rice has told Sky Sports News that he is “fine” and it seems that the midfielder will recover in time to play Aston Villa this weekend.
They may also have Belgian winger Leandro Trossard back. The 31-year-old missed the matches against Chelsea and Brentford with an unspecified injury, but was believed to be close to playing against the Bees in midweek and has every chance of being involved in some capacity at Villa Park.
The only other confirmed absentee is forward Kai Havertz, who recently suffered a setback in his recovery from a serious knee injury. He is expected to return to training this month with an eye on a comeback over the Christmas period.
With Martin Ødegaard and Viktor Gyökeres back to full fitness, Arteta has some interesting selection decisions to make but stand-in centre-forward Mikel Merino could well continue up front, while Bukayo Saka is likely to be restored to the starting line-up after being given a degree of rest against Brentford.
Arsenal predicted line-up vs. Aston Villa: Raya; Calafiori, Hincapié, Saliba, Timber; Rice, Zubimendi; Eze, Ødegaard, Saka; Merino.
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