Arsenal picked up a 1-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday and at the back of this superb Premier League win, the Gunners will begin their Champions League campaign in midweek with an away trip to Atalanta.
Atalanta have not made a very good start to their domestic season but they are a side that can cause Arsenal problems, especially with Mikel Arteta missing some very important players.
Declan Rice will be back in action which is a big plus but Mikel Merino is out with a fractured shoulder so either Thomas Partey or Jorginho will have to start in central midfield once again. Both of them ran their socks off against Spurs so it will be interesting to see which one of them can play another 90 minutes.
Martin Odegaard picked up a knock while on international duty and he along with Kieran Tierney and Riccardo Calafiori will be unavailable for Thursday’s match.
Zinchenko missed the North London Derby due to a calf injury and the left-back is also expected to miss the trip to Italy. Thankfully, Zinchenko’s absence will not be much of a bother for the Arsenal manager because Jurrien Timber has been superb in that role this season.
Bukayo Saka was taken off in the 86th minute on Sunday with what seemed to be an injury and tensions grew after the match when Mikel Arteta wasn’t able to provide an exact update.
Thankfully, according to Simon Collings of The Standard, Saka only suffered cramps and he will be fit and available to play against Atalanta on Thursday night.
Saka’s fitness is very important because the Arsenal manager does not have any proper backup for the England international because Martinelli and Leandro Trossard both like to play on the right-hand side.
On Sunday, Kai Havertz played in the No. 10 in Odegaard’s absence while Trossard led the line and against Atalanta we are expecting a similar formation.
