Arteta will be without several key players for the North London derby. — Filepic
ARSENAL will be without two of their three main midfield starters for the North London derby against Tottenham Hotspur as Premier League action resumes this weekend.
The Gunners’ captain, Martin Odegaard, looks set to miss the game at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium after being stretchered off the pitch during the Nations League match between Norway and Austria earlier this week.
The Norwegian was also pictured in crutches after that and is expected to be out for a lengthy period of time.
His fellow midfield partner Declan Rice has also been ruled out after seeing red in the 1-1 draw with Brighton and Hove Albion at the end of last month.
Rice, who had been booked earlier, received a second yellow card after kicking a ball away from Joel Veltman when the latter was preparing to take a free-kick during the match.
In their absence, Mikel Arteta could turn to Jorginho and Kai Havertz, who started in the last three matches as a central forward, for cover, alongside Thomas Partey.
Havertz is no stranger to a midfield role, having been deployed as a number eight in previous seasons.
Arteta will also be without several other players, including new signings Mikel Merino and Riccardo Calafiori, as well as Kieran Tierney and Takehiro Tomiyasu, who are all expected to be out for some time.
Gabriel Jesus, who suffered an injury in Arsenal’s opening Premier League game against Wolverhampton Wanderers, could be available but still needs to be assessed.
The Gunners’ defence is quite hard to break down this season, and have only let one goal in – Brighton’s Joao Pedro.
They had the tightest defence in the league last season, with only 29 goals conceded.
David Raya will definitely be in goal, with Gabriel Magalhaes, William Saliba, Ben White and Jurrien Timber providing cover as the back four.
Up top, Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli will patrol the flanks with Leandro Trossard possibly playing as the central forward.
Raheem Sterling, who moved to Arsenal on loan from Chelsea, could be set for a cameo in the all-London clash.
Over at Tottenham, Ange Postecoglou will definitely be without Richarlison, who suffered a muscle injury and is believed to be out until the end of the month.
Two other fitness concerns for Postecoglou are Micky van de Ven and club record signing Dominic Solanke from Bournemouth.
Van de Ven suffered an injury during the match against Everton in late August and missed the 2-1 loss to Newcastle United before the international break, while Solanke missed the last two league matches.
Both will have their fitness assessed by the club to see if they can feature against Arsenal.
If van de Ven is out, then Radu Dragusin could play in central defence with Cristian Romero.
Pedro Porro and Destiny Udogie will be on the wings of the backline, while Guglielmo Vicario should retain his spot between the posts.
Postecoglou could set his team up with a more attacking 4-3-3 formation, hoping that Arsenal would be less coherent without Rice and Odegaard in midfield.
Rice has been ever present for Arteta and it will be interesting to see if Arsenal can cope without their record signing.
Yves Bissouma, Pape Matar Sarr and James Maddison could make up the midfield trio.
Should Solanke miss out, Dejan Kulusevski could be slotted in the central forward role and be flanked by club captain Son Heung-min and Brennan Johnson on the left and right.
Tottenham’s start to the season has not been impressive, drawing 1-1 with newly promoted Leicester City and thumping Everton 4-0, before losing 2-1 to Newcastle.
“Big Ange” will be hoping to break his duck against the Gunners, as he has yet to best Arteta since taking over as manager last season, with one loss and a draw.
Tottenham’s last five league encounters have not been great, winning only once in 2022, then managed by Antonio Conte.
Their last two home matches against Arsenal also ended in defeat.
Postecoglou’s side can play some really good attacking football but are often let down by their defence.
He will need to ensure that his side can take the fight to Arsenal, especially with the home crowd behind them.
Even with the injuries, Arsenal will still be the favourites for the three points, while a point for Spurs may not necessarily be a bad result.
