Arsenal entertain Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League on Sunday afternoon.
The Gunners continued their unbeaten start to the campaign in midweek with a 4-0 win over PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League group stage. They will be in league action against Spurs at the Emirates Stadium this weekend and have the opportunity to climb up from 4th in the table with a third successive victory.
Arsenal don’t have any fresh injury concerns to deal with from the midweek European action, but Gabriel Martinelli remains doubtful, according to manager Mikel Arteta following his hamstring injury in the first half of the Premier League win over Everton last weekend. Here is how Arsenal are expected to line up in the North London derby.
Goalkeeper: David Raya got the nod in goal against Everton last weekend and he kept a convincing clean sheet on debut. The Spaniard also impressed with his distribution and ability to make accurate long passes. He retained his place ahead of Aaron Ramsdale versus PSV. Ramsdale has been brilliant for Arsenal in the past two years, but Raya now seems the first-choice for Arteta. The 24-year-old could stay on the bench.
Defence: No defensive changes are likely to be contemplated by the manager. Ben White and Oleksandr Zinchenko are expected to continue in the full-back spots with William Saliba once again accompanying Gabriel Magalhaes in the central defensive positions. The backline has kept two clean sheets on the trot and will be eyeing another when Spurs visit the Emirates on Sunday.
Midfield: Declan Rice and Martin Odegaard have been ever-presents in the Gunners midfield since the start of the campaign and the pair will retain their spots. Arteta handed a start for Fabio Vieira over Kai Havertz at Everton but the latter was back in the line-up in midweek and put up a good display. He won more duels than anyone in the Gunners ranks against PSV and could start again.
Attack: Bukayo Saka and Leandro Trossard had fantastic Champions League debuts on Wednesday with a goal and an assist apiece. They are set to continue in the wide attacking roles. Gabriel Jesus looks set to feature as the main man up front ahead of Eddie Nketiah after finding the back of the net on his return to the starting line-up in the Champions League curtain-raiser.
Expected Arsenal line-up vs Tottenham Hotspur
