Arsenal have enjoyed a faultless start to their Champions League campaign, thanks to winning each of their first three fixtures without conceding a goal, and they will be looking to continue their rich vein of form when they make the trip from the Emirates Stadium to Slavia Prague on Tuesday.
The Gunners have already overcome Athletic Bilbao, Olympiacos and Atletico Madrid in the early stages of the league phase, which has allowed head coach Mikel Arteta to already become one of the leading contenders to win the competition despite never previously getting their hands on the ultimate prize.
Slavia Prague, under the stewardship of boss Jindrich Trpisovsky, are still searching for their first victory in the Champions League, but picked up draws against Bodo/Glimt and Atalanta either side of losing to Inter Milan. GIVEMESPORT has predicted who will be involved when the Czech side and Arsenal go head-to-head.
Slavia Prague Team News
Jan Boril
Slavia Prague are in the midst of an injury crisis, meaning that the home side will be without a host of key men against Arsenal. Dominik Javorcek and Tomas Holes are out of contention as they continue their recovery from knee issues, while Filip Horsky and Petr Sevcik are long-term absentees after sustaining anterior cruciate ligament injuries.
Ivan Schranz will not be included in the side due to a muscle complaint, Igoh Ogbu is dealing with a hamstring problem and captain Jan Boril has already been confirmed as being out, highlighting that Trpisovsky is having to contend with a depleted squad as he prepares to welcome the Gunners to the Czech Republic.
Trpisovsky Drops Team News Update
Slavia Prague coach Jindrich Trpisovsky
Trpisovsky, speaking in his pre-match press conference, confirmed that his side will have to be at their best to overcome Arsenal. He said:
"Arsenal are really very complete and it's hard to find any [weakness]. Plus, they have great player replacements. They are absolutely fine. They lead the Premier League, the best league in the world, and it shows in them."
Slavia Prague Predicted XI
Tomas Vlcek
Slavia Prague Predicted XI: Markovic; Zima, Chaloupek, Vlcek; Moses, Sadilek, Zafeiris, Mbodji; Provod; Chory, Chytil.
Slavia Prague Predicted Substitutes: Stanek (GK), Rezek (GK), Hashioka (DEF), Dorley (DEF), Doudera (DEF), Kovar (DEF), Sanyang (MID), Sloncik (MID), Cham (FWD), Kusej (FWD), Prekop (FWD), Jelinek (FWD).
Arsenal Team News
Viktor Gyokeres
Viktor Gyokeres is not in contention to feature for Arsenal after he was not involved in their training session on Monday afternoon, having suffered a muscular injury in the first half of the north Londoners' win over Burnley last weekend and being forced to be withdrawn at the interval.
Fellow summer signing Martin Zubimendi will be absent against Slavia Prague after already picking up three bookings in the early stages of the league phase, leading to him having to serve a one-match suspension.
Kai Havertz, Gabriel Jesus, Noni Madueke and Martin Odegaard are out with knee problems, while Gabriel Martinelli and Kepa Arrizabalaga were among the names to not take part in training just 24 hours before facing Slavia Prague.
Defensive quartet Cristhian Mosquera, Piero Hincapie, Jurrien Timber and Riccardo Calafiori - who are on contracts worth a combined total of £330,000-per-week before bonuses - are expected to be on the bench alongside teenager Max Dowman.
Arteta Drops Team News Update
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta reacts vs Burnley
Arteta, speaking in his pre-match press conference, confirmed that Gyokeres will not be involved against Slavia Prague after picking up an injury at Burnley last time out. He said:
"He's definitely not available. He hasn't trained today (Monday), and we need to do some more tests and scans in the next few days to understand the extent of the injury.
"I am concerned because he hasn't had many muscular issues. He had to leave the pitch and was feeling something, and that’s obviously never a good sign, especially for a player that is very, very explosive.
"We are digging a little bit more to understand where we are in terms of the injury, and we'll announce the moment we know more."
Arsenal Predicted XI
declan rice
Arsenal Predicted XI: Raya; White, Saliba, Gabriel, Lewis-Skelly; Eze, Norgaard, Rice; Saka, Merino, Trossard.
Arsenal Predicted Substitutes: Setford (GK), Mosquera (DEF), Hincapie (DEF), Timber (DEF), Calafiori (DEF), Nwaneri (MID), Dowman (MID), Sagoe Jr (MID), Copley (MID), Ferdinand (FWD), Kamara (FWD), Oyetunde (FWD).