Arsenal go into their London derby with Chelsea knowing that a win will see them rise four points above title rivals Manchester City, who play on Thursday. It is a chance to build belief, but remains a situation of jeopardy because any loss of points between now and the end of the season will almost certainly end any remaining hopes of the Premier League title.
Mikel Arteta goes into the game with a squad fresh off the back of Jurrien Timber’s return to the field with the youth side. Meanwhile, there remain concerns over Takehiro Tomiyasu, who was left out of the squad which beat Wolves at the weekend as a precaution.
In a dream scenario, the Japanese international might be the perfect pick to help take on the in-form Cole Palmer. However, from a Blues perspective, there are concerns that he too might miss the game having missed training through illness.
“We need to assess him tomorrow morning, but today I don’t believe he can be involved,” Mauricio Pochettino said. “Even if he is feeling better tomorrow, maybe he is not in a condition to play.”
Quite the blow, but never rule anything out when it comes to miraculous recoveries against the Gunners. If he is fit, the Japanese international would surely be preferred; if not, there could be a place instead for either Jakub Kiwior or Oleksandr Zinchenko.
Tomiyasu would rejoin the same back four that faced Bayern Munich in Germany last week. David Raya, Ben White, William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes have been ever-present but may also be joined in the not-so-distant future by Timber when he’s ready to come back.
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Into midfield and fans have been waiting to see Thomas Partey get back into the side. Mikel Arteta has bemoaned his injuries this season but has been hesitant to bring him into the fold, despite the Ghanaian telling football.london he’s ready to contribute at the end of the campaign – a start against Chelsea would be good to help break the lines.
Declan Rice and Martin Odegaard are the other two obvious choices. The latter scored the Arsenal second against Wolves and is moving toward some brilliant records in goalscoring as club captain.
The forward line is perhaps the toughest choice with as many as five options for three slots. However, Bukayo Saka will always be on anyone’s starting XI whilst Kai Havertz has to play and has the motivation to score against the side he was so underrated with. Leandro Trossard’s form is further reason to continue with the Belgian over Gabriel Martinelli or Gabriel Jesus.
Dream Arsenal XI vs Chelsea: Raya, White, Saliba, Gabriel, Tomiyasu, Partey, Rice, Odegaard, Saka, Havertz, Martinelli.
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