Arsenal face Everton in Saturday’s Premier League game at the Hill Dickinson Stadium.
The Gunners were far from their best against Wolverhampton Wanderers last weekend. They secured a fortuitous victory after a couple of own goals from Rob Edwards’ side.
It was a good wake-up call for the club. They must produce a better showing tomorrow to pick up a victory and preserve their slender two-point lead at the top of the table.
Ahead of the encounter, manager Mikel Arteta looks poised to make three changes from the 2-1 victory over Wolves at the Emirates Stadium.
Riccardo Calafiori returns at left-back
The Italy international served a one-game league suspension against Wolves after accumulating five yellow cards this term. We had anticipated Myles Lewis-Skelly to make his first league start of the campaign, but Arteta surprisingly went with Jurrien Timber at left-back, with Ben White on the opposite end.
The experiment was short-lived as White suffered a hamstring injury in the opening half. Lewis-Skelly came on as a substitute at left-back, with Timber moving to the right. Calafiori, who was signed for £42 million from Bologna in 2024, is expected to be reinstated on the left side of the backline. He has been almost ever-present in the role, having started 15 of the club’s 16 league matches this season.
Martin Odegaard replaces Eberechi Eze
Eze got the nod over Martin Odegaard in the number 10 position against Wolves. He was largely ineffective against the low-block and was replaced by the captain before the hour mark. The latter did not make a significant impact, but managed more passes than Eze (24 to 22) and looked like a better creative outlet.
Everton could adopt a similar defensive formation against the Gunners, particularly with several key players missing. Idrissa Gueye and Iliman Ndiaye have travelled to Morocco for the Africa Cup of Nations, while Kiernan Dewbury-Hall and Jack Grealish are doubtful with hamstring injuries. Jarrad Branthwaite has been on the sidelines for a while. It seems a perfect game for Odegaard to unlock the Toffees’ defence with balls over the top.
Leandro Trossard in for Gabriel Martinelli
Trossard has been superb for the Gunners in the left wing position this term and has already accumulated six goals and five assists from just 18 appearances. Martinelli got the nod against Wolves on the back of scoring in his fifth-straight Champions League outing, which is a new club record. He was pretty average before an early substitution.
Trossard returned from a calf injury against Aston Villa. He scored coming off the bench only to sustain another knock. He was back to face Wolves as a substitute and should make the XI as the left winger. The Belgian has only two goals from 12 meetings against the Toffees, but he has scored in his last two away trips to the Merseyside outfit (Goodison Park).
Stats from Transfermarkt.com & SofaScore.com