(4-5-1): Havertz and Trossard benched, More midfielders and less attackers- Arsenal lineups after international break as Arteta finally changed formation due to lack of finishing from attackers
Arsenal will be hoping that several fitness concerns begin to ease over the course of the November international break.
Mikel Arteta has been forced to deal with several injury concerns across the first 11 matches of the Premier League season, as well as for games in the Champions League and Carabao Cup.
The Gunners were held to a 1-1 draw with Chelsea on Sunday in the Premier League to see the gap between themselves in fourth and leaders Liverpool extend to nine points after the Merseyside outfit beat Aston Villa 24 hours earlier.
Arsenal welcomed the return of Martin Odegaard to the starting line-up for the draw with Chelsea, with the midfielder missing 12 matches with an ankle injury he suffered with Norway back in September.
Odegaard had made a late cameo appearance against Inter Milan in the Champions League a few days earlier, but played the full 90 minutes against Chelsea in what was his first start since August.
It was confirmed on Tuesday, though, that Odegaard would not be travelling with the Norway squad over the next fortnight as he continues building up his fitness after only recently returning from the ankle injury.
“I’ve been through a long training period and when you haven’t practised football in the last nine weeks, it’s natural not to be 100 percent yet,” Odegaard told the Norwegian FA.
“I need to listen to my body, complete this rehab process and get my foot back in good shape. The hope has always been to be able to play the national matches, and if I hadn’t played the match [versus Chelsea] on Sunday, it would have been out of the question to participate anyway.”
Arsenal Predicted lineups after international break
Arsenal (4-4-2): Raya; White, Saliba, Gabriel, Timber; Saka, Rice, Merino, Martinelli; Havertz, Jesus
