Arsenal returned to winning ways with a 2-1 Premier League victory over Leeds United.
The Gunners had a tricky encounter at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday afternoon, but they managed to prevail despite trailing 1-0 in the 55th minute.
Riccardo Calafiori and Bruno Guimaraes found the net for Arsenal. The latter came off the bench to score a second winning goal since his summer move.
The Gunners will now shift their focus to the Champions League, where they host Lille on Tuesday night. Manager Mikel Arteta is bound to make multiple changes.
Arsenal have eight matches crammed in just 24 days, and rotation is almost essential to avoid injuries. We anticipate at least five changes from the Leeds victory.
The first one looks quite obvious at right-back. Ben White has just returned from a groin injury and should be replaced by Jurrien Timber in the starting XI.
Riccardo Calafiori has had plenty of short-term injuries during his time at Arsenal. His workload needs to be managed carefully to get the best of him over a long stretch.
Piero Hincapie would be the natural replacement at left-back, but the Ecuador international unfortunately suffered a knock to his ankle in a warm-down session yesterday.
Hence, Myles Lewis-Skelly could start in the position on Tuesday, vacating his midfield slot.
This could potentially mean a double change in the centre of the park. Guimaraes should be a guaranteed starter after his goalscoring heroics against Leeds.
Mikel Merino started the last Champions League outing at Napoli, and the Spaniard could be brought in to partner Guimaraes, with Rice getting another breather.
Rice was exceptional on Saturday after a three-week break without international football, but he is nursing neural hamstring pain and may feature on the bench.
Meanwhile, Martin Zubimendi suffered a knock during yesterday’s warm-down session, which makes his involvement against Lille on Tuesday doubtful.
The other two changes could come in attack. Kai Havertz has just returned from a hamstring injury. There should be rotation, with Viktor Gyokeres starting as the striker.
Arteta was full of praise for Noni Madueke after his solid performance from the left wing. The Englishman provided a crucial cross in the lead-up to Calafiori’s equaliser.
Despite this, we won’t be surprised if Eberechi Eze gets the nod. Eze, who joined Arsenal for an initial £60 million, was an unused substitute during the recent league win.
Eze has already started on the left wing in the Carabao Cup and Champions League this campaign. He could slot into the role, with Madueke likely to be the league regular with Christos Tzolis injured.
Stats from Transfermarkt.com