Arsenal supervisor Mikel Arteta has a couple of tactical conundrums forward of their journey to Premier League title rivals Man Metropolis on Sunday, with a couple of key members of the squad dominated out and unable to play in what’s considered one of their most important video games of the marketing campaign.
Man Metropolis vs Arsenal – crew information and damage updates
The north Londoners have come by means of a difficult week unscathed so far, with Arteta’s unbeaten facet taking all of the spoils in opposition to Tottenham in a 1-0 win final weekend earlier than coming away from Atalanta with a valuable level within the Champions League on Thursday.
Consideration now turns to their journey to the Etihad Stadium and third-successive away recreation, with Arsenal aiming to keep away from defeat in opposition to the Premier League champions who’ve thwarted their title cost in every of the final two seasons.
Arsenal might be lacking a couple of key gamers in opposition to Metropolis, most notably captain Martin Odegaard, who sustained ankle ligament harm throughout a 2-1 Norway win over Austria within the UEFA Nations League earlier this month.
Odegaard could possibly be again for Arsenal’s conflict in opposition to Liverpool on the finish of October, in accordance with some experiences, however the Gunners are additionally conscious he might miss this estimated return date as they err on the facet of warning in relation to his rehabilitation.
Mikel Merino is sidelined with a fractured shoulder as effectively, so he’s one other sure absentee for Metropolis because the Spaniard continues his restoration forward of his eventual debut later within the yr.
“A extremely aggressive one,” stated Arteta on Arsenal’s journey to Man Metropolis.
“We go to the house of the champions, the crew that I feel in Premier League historical past has been probably the most constant ever, not solely by way of outcomes however by way of dominance and constant high performances. That is the problem, we’ve to go there and show that once more we’ve made one other step and we will compete.
“We knew the schedule and we knew that it’s extraordinarily uncommon to play in these situations with three large away video games in six days, however it was what it was so we’ve ready for that, each bodily, mentally and tactically. We’re ensuring that everybody is prepared for it, as a result of we’re going to want them, particularly with the accidents that we had from the worldwide break.”
Dropping Odegaard and Merino means Kai Havertz could possibly be dropped into midfield in opposition to Man Metropolis, just like the German was in opposition to Atalanta, with considered one of both Gabriel Jesus or Raheem Sterling up entrance.
Arsenal with out Takehiro Tomiyasu in opposition to Man Metropolis
Odegaard and Merino are in no way their solely casualties, although, with Japan worldwide Takehiro Tomiyasu nonetheless unavailable following his knee damage in the summertime.
“Tomi is superb. He’s the very best right-back I’ve ever performed with. He’s all the time targeted. It’s an honour to play subsequent to him,” stated Ben White to DAZN Japan (through The Metro).
“Tomi does the easy issues at a world-class degree. He’s very alert and he isn’t careless in video games. From the start he’s utterly understood English and speaks in addition to I do.”
The defender is but to function this season consequently, and in accordance with soccer.london, Tomiyasu will miss Arsenal’s recreation in opposition to Man Metropolis as effectively.
The estimated return date for him is Arsenal’s house recreation in opposition to Leicester Metropolis subsequent weekend, so Arteta will not be capable to name upon the £100,000-per-week ace on Sunday.
