Mikel Arteta will avoid some tough decisions when naming his Arsenal matchday squad for Sunday afternoon’s Premier League clash against Brentford.
Mikel Arteta’s task is made easier as Arsenal returns to the Premier League this afternoon at Brentford.
4 Players Drop Out In Arsenal Premier League Clash Against Brentford
After a busy last month of the summer transfer window, well, in terms of spending by the Gunners, the number of first-team players available to the Spaniard since the opening day win over Crystal Palace has dwindled significantly compared to the likes of Nicolas Pepe, Hector Bellerin and Ainsley Maitland-Niles have both left.
Those decisions could haunt Arteta and technical director Edu again in the next month or so. Arsenal’s squad is now a bit light in some areas and the manager’s options could expand further against Brentford following an injury problem with Oleksandr Zinchenko.
However, the good news is that Thomas Partey was in full training on Friday and Ben White is in good shape due to concerns that he will not be selected for England’s Nations League squad Gareth Southgate due to a hip/knee injury, so they should be in contention to face the Bees.
The potential return of the Ghana international would therefore reduce the number of players Arteta has to keep in place when naming a 20-man squad for the short trip to West London. In fact, if he can be selected, it means a player who was involved in the game against Manchester United two weeks ago may have to make way for a defensive midfielder.
According to the club’s official website, the north London side has a roster of 24 senior players, which means Arteta will always have to decide which four first-team stars will be at home to cheer on his teammates, regardless of the injury situation.
But due to Mohamed Elneny’s long-term absence, Emile Smith Rowe ruled out with a groin injury, and the game coming too soon for Reiss Nelson and Cedric Soares, a decision has been made about who will drop out of the matchday squad against Brentford for Arteta.
With that being said, Zinchenko could be added to the roster. Although the Ukrainian national team sidelined the versatile defender for two weeks with a calf muscle problem, Arteta did not confirm that would be the case during his pre-match press conference on Friday afternoon.
