Arsenal legend Alan Smith expects his former club to get their season off to a winning start against Coventry City.
The Gunners will be playing Frank Lampard’s side on Friday evening, and speaking exclusively to Gooner News (courtesy of Best Betting Sites UK), Smith predicted that the Premier League champions would secure a comfortable victory:
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“I think it will be a good start for Arsenal. 3-0 to the Gunners.”
With the match being at the Emirates, Mikel Arteta’s side will be heavy favourites to grab all three points against their newly-promoted opponents.
Arsenal vs Coventry team news
The Gunners are set to be without Jurrien Timber (groin) and William Saliba (back). The former is still weeks away from returning to full fitness, while the latter won’t feature until October or November at the earliest.
Coventry, meanwhile, are assessing the fitness of five players ahead of their first match in the top flight since 2001.
Frank Onyeka and Luke Woolfendon both have knocks, Haji Wright has a thigh problem, while there are also doubts over Jack Rudoni (shoulder) and Ephron Mason-Clark (hamstring).
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New signings Bruno Guimaraes and Christos Tzolis both impressed after being handed starts in the Community Shield last weekend, and they are expected to keep their places on Friday night.
Arteta will have selection dilemmas in other positions. He will be weighing up whether to start Riccardo Calafiori or Piero Hincapie at left-back. He will need to make a decision on who will start up front too. Kai Havertz did not do his cause any harm after getting on the scoresheet against Manchester City, and the German could well be favoured over Viktor Gyokeres once again.
There is also a big decision to be made in the middle of the park, with Declan Rice ready to come back into the starting lineup. Will Myles Lewis-Skelly be the one to make way?