Arsenal finally return to action after more than two weeks without any domestic action on Tuesday as they host Fulham at the Emirates Stadium. Not involved in weekend action having already been eliminated from the FA Cup, Mikel Arteta has had to wait a few extra days to get his side back on the matchday field.
There has been some benefit to this, however, with Fulham involved in cup responsibilities and given just two days of recovery before turning up in north London. Meanwhile, the Gunners have been dealt bad news that Riccardo Calafiori was injured while with Italy on international duty.
The big news however is that Bukayo Saka has been seen on the training fields at the Sobha Realty and could be in line to play for Arsenal. With it being the international break, we have had little context around how ready he is, whether it could be for just a cameo or even a start.
With that in mind, football.london looks at a dream XI for the visit of the Cottagers. David Raya, unsurprisingly, is in goal for the clash and will be more determined than ever to claim back his Spain number-one spot after the return of Unai Simon saw the Arsenal man drop behind his Athletic Club counterpart.
In defence, Myles Lewis-Skelly has just returned from making his England debut where he scored on his first appearance at Wembley and has seemingly won Thomas Tuchel’s vote for him to be the nation’s new left-back. However, Jurrien Timber missed the Netherlands’ matches with Spain due to illness but there is hope for his return for Arsenal having assumed he’s shaken off the affliction.
In midfield, the typical trio will be expected to return after strong performances for their respective nations. Thomas Partey scored twice for Ghana, while Martin Odegaard got a hat-trick of assists for Norway and Declan Rice established himself in Tuchel’s England plans as expected.
Up top, Mikel Merino managed to score for Spain in his new unorthodox role that has crossed over into the international scene – Arteta has truly taken to him in the role and he scored in the club’s most recent match against Chelsea. Gabriel Martinelli is back and has had the break to get up to speed too.
On the right… could be the return of Saka. If he is indeed deemed ready to come back then he could get a start, if not then Ethan Nwaneri who scored on his first start for the England under-21s would be expected to come in.
Dream Arsenal XI vs Fulham – Raya; Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Lewis-Skelly; Partey, Rice, Odegaard; Saka, Merino, Martinelli
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Arsenal Manager Mikel Arteta, Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard and Gabriel Jesus with the Arsenal Therapy Dog Win during the Arsenal Men's team group shoot at London Colney on September 18, 2023
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