Arsenalvs.Monaco

The Gunners lost Oleksandr Zinchenko to an unknown injury before the 1-1 Premier League draw with Fulham on Sunday, a tie that Riccardo Calafiori, Gabriel Magalhaes, Ben White and Takehiro Tomiyasu also missed.

None of Zinchenko, Gabriel or Calafiori have been ruled out of this one just yet, but the turnaround is extremely tight, so Arteta will likely be working with an identical squad from the clash with the Cottagers.

Thomas Partey and Jurrien Timber started at right and left-back respectively on Sunday, neither of which is their natural position, but Arteta has a wildcard option that he could introduce in defence to help balance things out.

Indeed, Kieran Tierney has been restricted to a watching brief so far this season but should now be a genuine contender to start on the left-hand side, allowing Timber to revert to the right-back position, where he is much more effective.

Partey could therefore give way entirely, especially if Arteta wants to exercise caution over his fitness, while Mikel Merino for Jorginho could be a straight swap in the Arsenal engine room.

Leandro Trossard failed to make a major impact as a starter once again in the draw with Fulham, so Gabriel Martinelli should be promoted for this one, even if he was needlessly offside for Bukayo Saka's disallowed winner at Craven Cottage.

Arsenal possible starting lineup:

Raya; Timber, Saliba, Kiwior, Tierney; Odegaard, Rice, Merino; Saka, Havertz, Martinelli

Written by

Ben Knapton