Morning all.
It’s an early start today, a 12.30pm lunchtime kick-off as we face Aston Villa away from home. As you would expect, Mikel Arteta was giving little away when it came to team news, basically saying that he’d have to wait and see with regards Declan Rice, William Saliba, and Leandro Trossard. We have since learned that Cristhian Mosquera faces 6-8 weeks out with an ankle problem he sustained in the first half of the win over Brentford on Wednesday evening.
On the others, he said:
We have another training session in the afternoon. Every hour is going to be very important to see the availability of the players. After that, we’ll decide which ones are available.
We’re in short supply at the back if Saliba doesn’t make it, and if that is the case it can only be Jurrien Timber slotting in at centre-half with Ben White, on the back of an excellent showing in midweek, at right-back. In midfield, if there’s no Rice, there are various configurations available to the manager. Christian Norgaard could come in, and Martin Zubimendi could push forward; there’s Eberechi Eze to play alongside Martin Odegaard; while Mikel Merino could drop back from centre-forward to play in midfield if Viktor Gyokeres is fit enough to start up front. Then, on the left, he could play Gabriel Martinelli, Noni Madueke, or even push Eze out there if the midfield takes a different shape.
Obviously though, it’d be good news to have those aforementioned players available, taking some of the headache from the team selection. I’ve seen reports that Rice said he’s fine to play, but fine and 100% fit and ready to do 90 minutes after a really hectic schedule are two quite different things. He looked to be feeling the effects of those games even before he went off against Brentford, so we’ll just have to wait and see.
Both teams come into this one on the back of midweek games, so with the early kick-off it could be quite a test for the players. With the early start too, it could well be one of those damp squib games that often take place at this time, but equally this is a high stakes encounter. Villa sit in third place, just 6 points behind us, and they’re in excellent form at the moment. It’s always been quite a tricky place to go, and with the added Unai Emery factor there’s a little extra on either side of the equation.
Villa have plenty of quality and this is going to be a tough one, I think. One where, as your title credentials are tested, you have to dig really deep. I don’t doubt we have the quality ourselves, but with such a short turnaround from the last game, you just don’t quite know how performance will be impacted. Hopefully the lads will have had their vitamins this morning, and the team sheet looks solid with some key players available. It’s also a chance to put a bit of pressure on Man City who play at 3pm. A win today would put us 8 clear, at least temporarily, and while that’s not our first aim, it’d add a little something to the mix.
Right, I’ll leave it there. For something to listen to ahead of kick-off, you can check out our preview podcast on Patreon right now, and as ever you can join us for live blog coverage, as well as the report, player ratings, reaction, and all the rest on Arseblog News.
For now, have a good one, and come on you reds!
