Arsenal need to build a winning run of form in the Premier League if they are to put any pressure on league leaders Manchester City this season. Their next opponent is Bournemouth.
Travelling down to the Vitality Stadium on Saturday, Mikel Arteta has got a fair few selection headaches as there is a chance that both Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka will miss out through injury after they suffered knocks against Tottenham.
There are a handful of other important players missing for Arsenal too so if they can get away with all three points on Saturday, fans will be very happy regardless of the performance.
Here is the Gunners team that Arteta could choose against Bournemouth in the Premier League.
GK: David Raya – It is likely that Raya will hold his Premier League spot from the Tottenham game even though Aaron Ramsdale was impressive against Brentford in the Carabao Cup.
RB: Ben White – Having played at centre-back in the cup in midweek, Ben White will move back to the right as William Saliba returns in the middle.
CB: William Saliba – The French defender did not feature at all against Brentford so he is fresh to help his team in the Premier League.
CB: Gabriel Magalhaes – He is one of those players who never seems to need a rest so expect another 90 minutes on the pitch for Gabriel.
LB: Oleksandr Zinchenko – The Ukrainian only featured for just over 20 minutes in midweek so he should be feeling ready on Saturday.
CM: Martin Odegaard – Another player with minimal involvement in midweek, Odegaard will need to lead by example in what could quickly become a tricky game.
CM: Jorginho – The Italian has come in for quite a lot of criticism lately but Arteta is expected to stick by him in the absence of Declan Rice, who is not expected to recover in time.
CM: Fabio Vieira – He has gone under the radar so far this season but there could be a deep defence for Vieira to try and help unpick against Bournemouth.
RW: Reiss Nelson – Having played most of the game against Brentford and scored the only goal of the game, Nelson should hold his place if Saka cannot recover in time.
ST: Eddie Nketiah – With Gabriel Jesus needing to be used elsewhere, Nketiah should get another start as the main striker at Arsenal.
LW: Gabriel Jesus – He is less effective here, but with Saka, Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Martinelli all out, someone needs to play on the left wing.
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