Arsenal are still holding onto the top spot of the Premier League table but they could finally slip down because this weekend they will take on Chelsea.
The Blues might not be in the best of forms but under Graham Potter, they have managed to stabilize the ship and they are just three points away from the top four. However, Arsenal have lost only a single game this season in the EPL so they are very much the favourites to pick up a win on Sunday.
The Gunners won their previous league outing 5-0 against Forest and Mikel Arteta’s team will be eyeing nothing but a win this weekend. Man City are just two points away from the top spot so if Arsenal fail to pick up anything from this encounter then Guardiola’s men could finally overtake them.
This will be Arsenal’s last big match before the teams disband for the World Cup so if they can win on Sunday then they should be going into this mid-season break as the top-placed and favourite team to win the league.
Arsenal’s team news and injuries:
Takehiro Tomiyasu could play only 15 minutes on Thursday night in the Europa League and it’s safe to say that the full-back will not be available to start this weekend against Chelsea.
The manager said after the FC Zurich tie: ‘He felt something, and we didn’t want to take any risks with the amount of games that we’re playing.
‘It can happen in training [or] in games, and unfortunately, it happened to Tomi today. The rest of the players have to be ready.’
However, Ben White has done a great job as the right-back this season so even if Tomiyasu is not available, Arteta won’t be losing any sleep.
Zinchenko has returned to training this week but we will have to wait and see if the summer signing is ready to come into the starting line up or not.
Bukayo Saka is another injured player who has returned to first-team training this week but unlike Zinchenko, the winger should be fully fit to come back into the first XI against Chelsea.
👋 @BukayoSaka87 😁 pic.twitter.com/4gB124Eq5L
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) November 2, 2022
Matt Turner and Emile Smith Rowe are the only two players who are completely ruled out due to injuries.
The manager did reshuffle his pack on Thursday night so a number of his first-team regulars will be properly rested and raring to go against Chelsea.
Arsenal predicted line up vs Chelsea:
Predicted Starting Line up(4-2-3-1): Ramsdale; White, Tierney/Zinchenko, Gabriel, Saliba; Granit Xhaka, Thomas Partey; Saka, Martinelli, Odegaard; Gabriel Jesus.
