Arsenal do not have much time to think about their draw against Crystal Palace as they will have to face Aston Villa on Friday, so let’s take a look at the team news.
The Gunners put up a disappointing performance on Monday as they only found the equaliser deep into extra time. It will be a tough challenge against the Villains who will come to the Emirates in good form.
One player that will certainly miss this game is Granit Xhaka who suffered an injury in the north London derby. The Swiss midfielder is out for a long time so we might get to see Sambi Lokonga start.
One notable incident from the Palace game was Bukayo Saka being kicked in the leg and the youngster had to be taken off at half-time. Now, the winger faces a race to be fit in time for Friday. He is being assessed by the medical staff and a decision will be taken ahead of the match.
The manager also confirmed that few more players who finished the Palace game will be assessed today. He said:
“We have a training session today, we had two or three players who finished the game [against Crystal Palace] with some issues, and we had to assess them today.”
Arsenal Fever View:
It is important for both club and manager that the team gets back to winning ways as they are slipping up in the Premier League. More than the result last time around, it was the way the team played that was worrying.
And if the Gunners are going to be without Saka, that will be a big blow as the youngster brings a lot of skill and drive to the midfield. He is someone who can help unlock defences and, in all likelihood, it will be his friend Emile Smith Rowe taking his place should the player be unavailable.
This is a real test of Arteta’s ability to galvanise his players to produce a more coherent performance for the entire game. Getting the better of Villa will not be easy but Arsenal do have the talent to pull off a victory and get the three points. It will be interesting to see how the north Londoners set their home form right against a strong visiting team.
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