Arsenal will look to bounce back from last weekend’s stumble in the Premier League title race when they host Everton at the Emirates Stadium.
The Gunners missed the opportunity to move within four points of league leaders Liverpool when they travelled to Craven Cottage last Sunday, only managing to draw with Fulham. The midweek win over Monaco in the Champions League will have lifted spirits, however, with Arsenal not reliant on set pieces to overcome their European foes.
Everton have had ten days to recover from their 4-0 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers following the postponement of last weekend’s Merseyside derby. Sean Dyche will have had plenty of time to work out a plan of action on the training ground but even the most well engineered plans can fall short at the Emirates.
Arsenal have struggled with defensive injuries throughout the season and have a number of absentees from their backline ahead of Everton’s visit.
Takehiro Tomiyasu and Ben White are both sidelined with knee issues and the trio of Oleksandr Zinchenko, Riccardo Calafiori and Gabriel are major doubts after missing recent matches. Mikel Arteta rarely opens up on injuries during press conferences, making it difficult to know the scale of their respective problems.
Arteta is unlikely to make too many changes from the side that beat Monaco comfortably midweek – depending on the development of his injured stars.
Kai Havertz should return to the starting lineup after being replaced by Gabriel Jesus on Wednesday, while Jurrien Timber could come in for impressive 18-year-old Myles Lewis-Skelly at left-back.
Arsenal lineup vs Everton (4-3-3): Raya; Partey, Saliba, Kiwior, Timber; Odegaard, Merino, Rice; Saka, Havertz, Martinelli.
Everton’s injury list is not particularly lengthy and generally includes the squad’s more peripheral figures. In midfield, James Garner and Tim Iroegbunam are missing, while Youssef Chermiti is still unavailable up front.
Michael Keane is a major doubt for Saturday’s clash after suffering a knee injury that has kept him out of the Toffees’ last two matches. The centre-back is unlikely to start in place of either James Tarkowski or Jarrad Branthwaite even if passed fit.
