It’s Arsenal’s final stop before the Premier League season restarts following a six-week World Cup break as their preparations conclude with a friendly against Juventus this evening.
The behind-closed-doors clash with Watford which featured members of the Gunners’ senior squad not at the World Cup was the start of players getting back to full match sharpness ahead of the West Ham United game on Boxing Day and those efforts have been ramped up since.
A 10-day stay in the Middle East included a spot of warm-weather training as well as facing Lyon and AC Milan in the Dubai Super Cup – a competition Arsenal clinched before heading back home after 3-0 and 2-1 wins respectively in addition to a pair of penalty shootout victories.
Mikel Arteta’s decisions in Dubai may serve as a hint as to what line-up he will select against the Serie A outfit, although he is expected to give those who have been eliminated from the World Cup some minutes as football.london understands Matt Turner and Granit Xhaka are likely to be involved.
Going by Friday’s training session, Arsenal’s first and second-choice goalkeepers are available for selection once again as Aaron Ramsdale made his return. It could be that Turner plays the first-half and is replaced by the England international for the second half as a way to ensure both are sharp ahead of the West Ham game.
Of course, that decision would be somewhat harsh on Karl Hein, who after enduring a nightmare competitive debut against Brighton in the Carabao Cup last month, made the most of his instant shot at redemption in Dubai as he saved four penalties against Lyon before impressing against AC Milan.
The defensive unit in front of Turner could be the same one that started on Tuesday afternoon, with Ben White continuing at right-back and Rob Holding benefitting from William Saliba reaching the World Cup final with France to partner Gabriel Magalhaes in central defence once again.
Despite Arsenal’s confidence with regard to Oleksandr Zinchenko’s availability for Boxing Day, the fact he wasn’t spotted in training on Friday after missing the friendlies against Watford, Lyon and AC Milan suggests he won’t be risked which means Kieran Tierney gets the nod at left-back with Lino Sousa amongst the substitutes.
Xhaka can replace Albert Sambi Lokonga and slot back into a midfield three alongside Thomas Partey and Martin Odegaard, whilst in attack, Eddie Nketiah can continue leading the line in the absence of Gabriel Jesus who underwent knee surgery earlier in the month and could be out of action for up to three months.
Once again, if the training images and Arteta’s recent team selections are any indicators then Fabio Vieira will continue operating from the right-hand side with Reiss Nelson taking up a position on the opposite flank as both look to stake another claim to be involved when the Premier League resumes.
