Odegaard out | Expected Arsenal line-up vs Aston Villa

Arsenal will look to get back to winning ways when they take on Aston Villa at Villa Park on Saturday afternoon. Here is the side Mikel Arteta is expected to pick:

Goalkeeper: Aaron Ramsdale will be disappointed with the two goals he conceded against Liverpool, particularly the Diogo Jota strike as he shouldn’t have been beaten at his near post. However, Ramsdale is certain to keep his place between the sticks this weekend.

Defence: Takehiro Tomiyasu didn’t feature during Arsenal’s defeat to Liverpool on Wednesday and hasn’t been named in the Japan squad for their upcoming games. This suggests he’s not near full fitness following a calf problem and won’t be available for the trip to Villa.

Cedric Soares played well last night and he’s set to keep his place at right-back while Kieran Tierney should continue on the left ahead of Nuno Tavares.

Ben White and Gabriel did well for long periods against Liverpool but will have been disappointed to have let-in two goals. The pair will be desperate to marshal Arsenal to a clean sheet against Villa this weekend.

Midfield: Thomas Partey continued his excellent form with another terrific performance on Wednesday night so he’s a nailed-on starter for the Gunners on Saturday. Granit Xhaka should also keep his place in the middle of the park ahead of Albert Sambi Lokonga and Mo Elneny.

Smith Rowe recalled

However, we may see a change in the attacking midfield position. Martin Odegaard has been outstanding lately but he looked a little jaded against Liverpool and missed a glorious chance with the score still at 0-0.

Emile Smith Rowe is pushing for a recall and although he’s mainly been used from the left this season, he’s more than capable of playing a central role so we could see him recalled to give Odegaard a rest against Villa.

Attack: Gabriel Martinelli was superb against Liverpool and gave Trent Alexander-Arnold a torrid time throughout the game so he deserves to keep his place this weekend.

Bukayo Saka wasn’t at his best on Wednesday but he’s still one of Arsenal’s best players and will no doubt retain his place at Villa Park. That means Nicolas Pepe will once again have to settle for a place on the bench.

Alexandre Lacazette missed a golden chance to open the scoring against Liverpool and Arsenal’s lack of prolific striker ultimately cost them in the end. However, Lacazette does excellent work for the team and his link-up play is important so he’s set to continue up front.

Here is how Arsenal could line-up: