Morning all.
We’re in Premier League action later on this afternoon when we take on Unai Emery’s Aston Villa at the Emirates. There was little to no team news reported when Mikel Arteta met the press, beyond a story about Gabriel being missing from training, so it’s hard to know how the manager might tweak things for today.
It’s impossible to ignore the fact this game is sandwiched between our Champions League games with Bayern, and while the focus will be 100% on what we need to do today, the schedule is likely to have some impact on team selection. Whether it’s a decision about a player who might be feeling something from Tuesday in order to protect him for next week, or adding some fresh legs here and there, it wouldn’t be a surprise if there were at least a couple of changes.
If Gabriel isn’t available, the options are Jakub Kiwior, or Takehiro Tomiyasu. The former is probably more match-fit, the latter probably just a bit more secure defensively – he plays LCB for Japan all the time – and someone who could benefit from getting minutes. I’m sure it hasn’t passed Arteta by that Villa have a lot of threat down their right side with the likes of Leon Bailey and Moussa Diaby, so who he thinks his best choice at left back might play a part too.
Villa are weakened in midfield due to the absence of Douglas Luiz (suspended), and Boubacar Kamara and Jacob Ramsey are both injured, so that too might influence team selection. If Gabriel Jesus is as fit as the manager says he is, I wonder if we might see Kai Havertz drop back into midfield to let the Brazilian start up front, while players like Emile Smith Rowe and even Thomas Partey might fancy their chances of a start today.
I’d give Gabriel Martinelli the start on the left, because although he wasn’t great against Bayern in midweek, he’s the one player you can really envisage making the most of Villa’s high line if we can find the right passes in behind it. It was a feature of the game at…
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Author : arseblog
Publish date : 2024-04-14 07:53:46
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